Falling A Step Below
by LoveWasOurs
Summary: Beginning her first few days at a new school, Maya Ward can already feel a connection between herself and the student council president, who's supposedly on top of everything.
1. One: The First Day

**Chapter One**

It was her first day at Sweet Amoris High School. She was more than happy to get out of her old town, but everything that bothered her still hung over her like drapes. But who knows? Maybe she would find herself at peace here.

She rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a sweater, before brushing her hair. She slipped her feet into a pair of black slip-ons and descended the stairs, leaving the house without bothering to have breakfast. She walked slowly, clenching the strap to the bag over her shoulder tightly. What would it be like here? Would the other students here be kind or cruel? She sighed. She couldn't take anymore of the cruelty. As she finally reached the school, her gaze glued to her feet. She took a deep breath and pushed the doors open, lifting her gaze. Of course, it was like any other school; students loitering with their friends or shuffling to their first classes, doors opening and closing, the sound of mumbling and locker doors closing.

"Maya Ward?"

The voice was smooth and thick like honey filling her ears but the voice suddenly appearing behind her startled her. She took a deep breath before turning. She found herself gazing into a pair of warm, inviting golden brown orbs. They were enclosed by the most perfect looking, yet a bit pale, skin. Gleaming blonde hair hung over his eyes as he delicately lifted a perfect hand to brush his perfect hair out of his perfect face. She didn't care who he was, or how he knew her name. All she knew was that she wanted him.

"Yes?" she stammered.

A gentle smile stretched across his face. "I knew I didn't recognize you," he said, "I'm Nathaniel, student council president. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," she said, "But can I just call you Nathan?"

He nodded kindly. "I don't mind," he said, "But I noticed that you haven't turned in your enrollment form yet when the principle noted it to me."

"I haven't?" she said, "I thought I turned in all my forms."

"It wasn't found," he said, "I'll keep looking for it, but you should too. It's an important form for your registration. Also, you'll need a photo I.D."

Maya nodded. "I'll take a look around," she said.

She felt so lost, gazing at such a perfect man. He seemed so well put together as well. Gazing into the shining orbs that were his eyes, she couldn't see anything else. Her knees felt weak. Her breath was shaky.

"Maya!"

The voice that startled her out of her fantasy sounded familiar. She sighed, forcing her gaze away from the perfect man to find who was calling her name so obnoxiously. She froze. _Him?_ Why was he here?

"Ken?" she said, astonished and a bit angry, "What are you doing here?"

His large round glasses fogged up as he gazed at her and he sheepishly grinned. "I came for you, Maya," he said happily, "So I could be close to you!"

Maya glanced back. Nathan had gone off somewhere; he was nowhere in sight. She smiled, turning back to Ken. He blushed at the sight of her smile.

"_Get lost_," she said sternly, "I wasn't interested in you before and I'm surely not interested in you now." His smile faded and he stood there awkwardly, letting her words set in. It wasn't the first time she'd said something like this to him and she wasn't a generally resentful person, but Ken took his little crush on her a bit too far. At first she was flattered but now he seemed more like a stalker.

"Aw, hey look," a voice said from a little behind Ken, "There are Ken and his girlfriend. How cute."

"Girlfriend?" she said, "I'm not his girlfriend."

"Oh?" the voice said and a girl stepped into view from behind Ken, "It sure seems like it, the way he talks about you."

Maya gazed at Ken, whose face flushed and he looked away quickly.

The girl smiled. "You must be the new girl," she said, pushing Ken out of the way, "I saw you talking to Nathaniel."

Maya felt a bit suspicious about this girl. "Yeah," she said, "What about it?"

Her smile faded and her true colors were revealed by the look on her face. "I suggest you stay away from him," she said.

"Stay away from him?" Maya repeated, "Why? Do you like him or something?"

The girl burst out laughing. "I would never," she said, "Just stay away from him."

She rolled her eyes, turning half away. "I'll do what I want," she said, "I'll date who I want, too."

"We'll see about that," the girl said.

Maya ignored her, walking out of the building. There were students outside, so she knew it was okay. She just wanted to take a breather. She walked quickly around campus, her head down. She paid no attention to where she was walking. She felt as if this school would end up just like her old school.

"Watch where you're going," a masculine voice said when she accidentally ran into someone. Maya lifted her gaze. There was a pair of blue-ish colored eyes. Unnaturally red hair enclosed his face.

She grimaced. "You were the one just standing there," she said, "You could've moved."

There was a pause and to her surprise, he smiled. "Who are you?" he said.

"Maya," she said, avoiding his gaze, "Who are _you_?"

"Castiel," he said.

"Well, then," she said, "This was… quite the awkward introduction. I guess I'll just be going then."

Maya went through her first few classes at ease. She didn't seem to have any classes with the girl from earlier, whose name she learned was Amber, or Ken. But the negative side was that she didn't have any classes with Nathan. She didn't have any with Castiel either, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. He was an interesting character but she wasn't sure if they would get along or not. It was about halfway through the day; the class before lunch. She had study hall this period, but she had asked the study hall monitor for a hall pass so that she could explore the school for a while. It was a big school but she got the hang of it easily.

Maya walked slowly, peeking into every doorway she caught sight of. She came across a room. There were mirrors along the wall. A stereo was on the floor and on the table across the room was an iPod speaker. The wooden floors were gleaming with old wax. She knew what it was right away. Her heart pounded. This was a dance room. Was there a dance group here at this school?

Maya entered slowly, her feet hardly making a noise against the hard ground. She set her bag down against the wall, entering the locker room. She changed into her gym clothes and returned to her bag, digging through it until sighting her iPod and plugging it into the speaker. She stood up straight as the music began to play before letting it sweep her away. It engulfed her until she was blind to everything else. All her surroundings disappeared; it was just her and her music. Only when the song stopped did she realize that she was still in school. She spun around to put on another dancing song when her gaze found a figure in the doorway. She blinked and realized it was Nathan. Her cheeks turned bright red and she bit her lip.

"I didn't know you were there," she said, feeling panicked.

He smiled, leaning against the door frame, "Don't mind me," he said gently, "Continue."

Maya gazed at the floor. "How embarrassing," she muttered.

"No," he said, "You're an amazing dancer. Don't be embarrassed."

She felt flustered. "Thank you," she said, "Nobody else has actually seen me dance before." A thought came into mind and she perked up. "Is there a dance club or something? I mean a reason why this room is here."

He suddenly began avoiding her gaze, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah," he said, "But… uh… I heard about your encounter with Amber today."

She scratched her head. "I guess gossip travels fast here," she said, "But yeah, she just kind of came up to me with her friends and started picking on me. I don't think it's a big deal, though."

"That's good," he said, "Don't mind her."

"Do you know her?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, "She's my sister."

Maya's jaw fell. "Your sister?" she gasped, "That's crazy, you two are so different."

He shrugged. "I guess," he said, "But at home we're just like any other pair of siblings."

"Oh I see," she said, "But anyways, why did you bring her up so suddenly?"

"Well," he said, a sheepish look on his face, "She kind of… runs the dance group. She's the captain."

She gazed at him for a few long moments. "Oh," she said, "I see."

"That's right, little girl. This room is also strictly for the dance group."

Maya spun around at the sound of Amber's voice. There she stood, her hands on her hips. She had a devilish smile on her face.

"So get out," she said, shooing her.

Maya stood her ground. "Well why can't I be in here when the dance group isn't?" she said.

"I have an idea," Amber said, "Why don't we dance for it? Today after school; meet me there."

"Sounds reasonable enough," Maya said.

Amber grinned, turning around and leaving. Maya turned towards Nathan. He looked a bit anxious.

"I don't think it's a good idea, Maya," he said, "You don't know her like I do."

Maya shrugged. "I just want to dance," she said, entering the locker room.

It was after school. After changing back into her gym clothes, Maya arrived at the dance room. Amber stood by the other entrance, a remote in her hand and a smug look on her face. Maya gazed at her, her heart overcome with the passion to dance. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and turned to see Nathan. He still had the same anxious look on his face.

"You don't have to worry," she said to him, "Dance groups always do the simplest dances. Plus, free style is my favorite way to dance. She probably has a routine or something."

"You go first," Amber called across the room, turning on the music with her remote.

Maya stepped in slowly. The song was elegant and graceful; the kind of music that lifted her away by the first few steps. She began by jumping and spinning in the air, her arms up. She landed and slipped, her ankle twisting in and she fell to the floor. Searing pain shot up through her leg. She grasped her ankle, panting. Amber's laugh sounded, echoing across the room.

"Did I mention that it's waxing day?" she said, "All clubs on a hard wood floor were canceled today."

"Amber," Nathan's voice said, filling the room warmly, "You went too far." He approached Maya carefully so as not to slip. He knelt down beside her. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I fell on my ankle. I think it's sprained." He touched her bright red ankle before gathering her in his arms, ignoring the fact that her face had gone a bright red.

"Let me take care of you today," he said, softly, "Think of it as an apology for my sister's behavior."

"My behavior?" Amber said, "I'm a person, not a dog, Nathaniel. I can apologize for myself."

"I know," he responded, carefully getting to his feet, "But I also know that you're never going to apologize."

She rolled her eyes. "Well she deserved it," she said.

He sighed. "I don't want to hear it," he said. He carried Maya out of the room, looking frustrated. Maya stayed quiet out of respect so that she didn't anger him even more than he already was.

"Do you need anything?" he asked as they approached the door, "From your locker or something."

She shook her head. "No," she said.

"Listen," he said, "I'm really sorry about Amber. I don't understand why she was acting like that."

Maya shrugged. "There's no reason to apologize," she said, smiling kindly, "I got picked on a lot at my old school so I'm used to this kind of thing."

"You were?" he asked, pushing the doors open carefully so that she didn't fall, "But you're such a nice girl."

"Maybe," she said, "But I don't know. I guess people just feel the urge to hate me before they meet me. I can understand why; I make too many mistakes, I'm too forgetful, I'm not pretty at all."

"Are you kidding me?" he said, "Everybody makes mistakes. Short-term memory can be dealt with. And you're gorgeous. Don't be so hard on yourself. Amber is just one person. Her friends only hate you because she does."

She sighed. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "It just makes me sad when someone hates me enough to try to physically hurt me like that."

He shook his head. "I told you I'd take care of you today," he said, "Don't worry about a thing. Think positively."

Nathan's gate was slow and silent. She wasn't sure where they were going but she was glad not to be going home. She finally understood when they stood on a porch. The home was lovely but quiet. He opened the door.

"I'm home," he called. When there was no response, he shrugged. "I guess they went out." He set her in a sitting position on the couch, setting a pillow on the table and resting her foot on it. He slipped off her shoe, examining her foot. "It's sprained," he said, "It's already swollen."

"It hurts," she winced as he turned her ankle. He set it down before getting to his feet.

"I'll get you some ice," he said.

She nodded. As he left the room, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. The hate, the bullying, the abuse; it was like a déjà vu. She'd experienced the same things last year. She hoped with all her heart that Amber would stop being a problem. He returned and delicately but firmly placed the ice pack on her ankle. She winced but then felt a little better as the cold of the ice eased the pain of her ankle a bit.

"Are you hungry?" he said, "When my mother comes home, I'll have her make an extra plate for you. I'm sure she won't be long. I just have some school work to do, though, but by the time I'm done I'm sure she'll be here."

"I don't want you to trouble yourself or your mother," she said, "I'm not hungry anyways. But I have a question."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Um," she said softly, "Why does Amber hate me?"

He took a deep breath. "You know," he said, "I'm not completely sure about that. That's something you'd have to ask her about."

Maya's gaze fell to the floor. "I guess I'll never know then," she sighed, "But anyways, thanks for having me."

He smiled. "It's no big deal," he said, "I want to make it up to you, since Amber is my sister."

She shrugged. "It's really weird that you guys are siblings," she said, "You two are like polar opposites. You're so sweet and she's so… immature."

He chuckled. "Thanks, I guess," he said, "Well anyways, I have some work to do for now. Feel free to rest up here. If you're going to leave though, just let me know, okay? I don't want you walking home with that ankle."

"Okay," she said, "Thanks again."

He nodded once and left the room. Maya sighed, gazing up at the ceiling. She lifted her hand against the bright light on the ceiling and its bright glow shined through her fingers. She let her hand fall on her forehead, losing herself in her thoughts. She didn't want to go home, but she didn't want to stay here to see Amber; on the other hand, she liked being around Nathaniel. She sighed again. Why did things have to be complicated? It was only her first day and she was already longing for a break.

Her hand fell to her side as she pulled herself to her one strong foot, delicately setting the weak one on the floor. She winced, shifting all of her weight to her stronger leg before limping out of the room. She reached the front door and limped out quickly, gazing around to make sure neither Nathaniel nor Amber were in sight. The stairs were only a few steps away. She limped towards them. Suddenly a tree branch swung down towards her, nailing her right in the face. She could feel blood dripping from her lip and her nose but not only that; she was falling, feeling as if she had no control over her limbs. Her arms and legs let her fall. She hit the porch floor with a thud and everything went black.


	2. Two: Connecting

**Chapter Two**

Maya came to and the first thing she saw was Nathaniel standing with his hands on his hips, looking frustrated as she gathered where she was. She was now in his home again, sitting on the couch.

"Nathan," she said, which came out as nothing more than a mumble, "Wha…what happened?"

"It was Amber again," he said, "That's why I wanted you to let me know before you leave so that I could walk you there. If I was with you, she wouldn't have done that."

"I'm sorry," she said, her gaze dropping, "I just feel like I'm being a bother. I'm not used to someone going to this much trouble for me." She sighed. Why did he seem so angry at her?

"I told you, it's no trouble at all," he said, "Now if only I could actually do something about Amber."

"Nathan," she said quietly, "Can you sit by me?" She patted the spot on the couch closest to her, "Right here."

He blushed a little at the thought of sitting so close, but obeyed. She instantly felt warm feeling his side against hers. She couldn't help herself as she rested her head on his shoulder and held on to his arm.

"Stay here," she said softly, "I'm tired."

Maya's eyelids felt like weights. It wasn't long before she was slipping into a deep sleep.

•••

Nathaniel felt a bit strange with Maya sitting so close to him. It was warm and comfortable and he liked it, but this was something that should be done with a girlfriend, not just a friend. He took a deep breath. He needed to relax. It was the least he could do after what Amber did; going out of her way to physically hurt Maya. If Maya wanted to sleep on him like this then it should be okay. The only problem was the butterflies inflicted on his insides. Amber must have climbed the tree when she saw Maya inside and struck her with the branch by putting her weight on it at the right moment. He wondered why it made him so angry; if it was anybody else outside of his family, he would've been angry at Amber but not angry like this. His gaze fell on Maya. He was afraid that Amber's unkindness would scare her away. There weren't many girls he knew that were like Maya; there was just something about her.

Nathaniel slipped out of her grasp, adjusting her so she sat up normally. He wrapped her ankle so that it wasn't too tight or too loose, yet firm and able to support it. He returned to her side, pulling her closer so that her head was rested on his shoulder again. He rested his head on hers warmly. Extending his free arm over and stroking her bob-cut, thick and silky black locks. Her hair was soft. He closed his eyes as his fingertips traced her jaw line to her chin. Her skin was soft and had a delicate feel to it. It was a bit strange that Maya avoided Amber but was attaching herself to Nathaniel. Wait, 'attaching herself'? Poor choice of words, he thought to himself. It seemed more like she simply preferred to be around him. He sighed, letting his hand fall to her lap. It was a bit inappropriate but being so close to her like this made him feel tired, with her warmth melting into his skin.

•••

Maya's eyes fluttered open. She rubbed them, gathering her whereabouts. She was still in Nathaniel's house. The first thing she noticed was her ankle was wrapped nicely. She felt warm. Why did she feel so warm? She blinked hard. His head was rested on hers and he still sat so close. Her heart raced. His hand was even on her lap. Maybe he moved it in his sleep; he was too much of a gentleman to purposely put his hand there.

"Um, Nathan?" she stammered nervously, "Are you awake?"

He didn't respond, meaning he was asleep. She lifted up her hands, using them to support his body instead of her. She got to her feet, putting all her weight on her stronger ankle as she gently rested Nathaniel on his side. He slept soundly; he must've been tired. She limped around the first floor. She didn't see Amber anywhere, but she found a neat and organized bedroom, which she guess was Nathaniel's. She smiled knowing that no one else would have a room so clean and organized as she shuffled inside.

'_I'm in his bedroom,'_ Maya thought to herself. She stripped the bed of the blanket folded on the edge, approaching Nathaniel in the living room again. She delicately laid the blanket over his body, pulling it up over his shoulders and her lips tingled with the urge to kiss him. She fought it off as she wandered to where she noticed the kitchen before lifting her gaze to the wall clock. It had been hours since he brought her here. She sighed; she needed to return the favor for what he'd done for her. She prepared the best meal she could think of that didn't include anything that was a major allergy for people, since she wasn't sure if he was allergic to anything; but then again if it was in the cupboard, he probably wasn't allergic to it but she didn't want to take the risk. Once she prepared the meal, she cleaned off the table and set it up.

Maya smiled kindly as she knelt down beside his sleeping face. She gave his shoulder a gentle shake. "Nathan," she said softly, "Wake up."

His eyes opened slowly and tiredly. When his gaze found her, he suddenly became more awake, gazing around.

"Did you put this on me?" he asked, lifting up the blanket.

Maya nodded as she got to her feet, careful not to put too much weight on her sprain as she gathered the blanket drenched over him. He sat up.

"This smells good," he said gazing at the dinner she'd prepared for him, "You made this?"

She nodded. "I just wanted to thank you," she said, "I don't think your mother's home yet and I don't know if Amber is – nor do I care to know. But I just figured that I should make up for it. I don't really mind that Amber doesn't like me, and I guess I had it coming when I got this sprain for the way I was acting and I appreciate all that you've done for me but I think you didn't necessarily have to. Anyways, I've been cooking for myself since I was in grade school, so the food should be decent at least."

He smiled. "Thank you," he said.

Shaking her head, she said, "There's no need to thank me, really. I've actually always wanted to cook for and take care of someone else. It makes me feel like a-" Maya bit her tongue before she could say the word 'wife'. It was the first day that they met; it was a bit too soon to be calling herself his wife, meanwhile she wasn't even sure he liked her like that. She turned, mumbling gibberish quietly so that he assumed she'd finished her sentence. She limped to his bedroom and folded up his blanket again, leaving it exactly where it was before wandering around in search of the bathroom. Once she found it, she entered and prepared a bath. She returned to the living room.

"Nathan," she said, "If you're done eating, I prepared a bath for you."

He grinned. "You're so helpful," he said, "This food was amazing, too." He got to his feet and as he brushed past her, he said quietly, "You'll make a great wife one day."

Maya stood there, gazing at the empty plate and cup on the table. That one phrase made her feel so… different. She took a deep breath, telling herself that she wasn't his wife and he was referring to her being with whoever she might marry, not referring to her marrying him. She shook her head, feeling a bit confused before limping towards the dishes on the table and taking them back to the kitchen. She washed them as thoughts of Nathaniel ran through her mind. Her heart was pounding. What was this feeling? It was strange. She hadn't known him long but it felt like she'd known him for so long. As she filed away the clean dishes, her ears pricked as the door opened. She slid back on her strong foot and peered through the doorway towards the front door. It opened to reveal a woman who looked in her thirties or forties. She had a sad look on her face as she shuffled past the kitchen. Only until she was a few feet away did she notice Maya.

"Who's… this?" the woman asked.

"I'm a friend of Nathaniel's," Maya said, giving her a friendly smile, "You must be his mother, right?"

The woman nodded, her curiosity instantly fading. "Did you cook for him?" she said, eying the clean dishes in Maya's hand.

"Yes," she said, "I mean, I hope you don't mind that I did, but he's done a lot for me today, so I…" Maya's words faded, watching Nathaniel's mother sluggishly walk away and disappear up the stairs in the middle of Maya's sentence. "Huh," Maya mumbled to herself, "That was a little… peculiar."

Maya finished putting the dishes away before limping towards Nathan's bedroom to tell him that she would be leaving now. She stopped mid-limp when her gaze found him through his half open door. He was shirtless. She bit her lip, letting the thought that his body was amazing slip through her mind before closing her eyes, covering them with one hand.

"Um, Nathan," she stammered nervously, "I… I'm ready to go now."

"Huh?" he said before gasping. She could hear him pull his shirt on quickly before telling her, "Okay, you can uncover your eyes now." She let her hand fall slowly as she carefully peeled her eyes open. He wore another white button down but no tie. The first few buttons were undone. "I'll walk you home."

Maya smiled. "Thank you," she said. She limped towards the doorway, Nathaniel close behind her. She reached for the door but his hand found it first and he held open the door for her. She smiled and brushed past him before he held on to her waist on the side of her weak ankle before lifting her arm around his neck and leaning her body towards his so that he was supporting her. She limped with her body leaning against his and he walked slowly so that she could keep up.

"We turn up there," she said, pointing. He nodded. After a few moments of silence, she said, "I don't know if you knew this but I met your mom which you were in the bath."

"Oh, I see," he said, looking expressionless.

"Yeah," she said, "I do respect her just because of her title as your mother, but she kind of ignored me, which was a little…" she stopped speaking, gazing up at him. He still looked a bit emotionless.

He smiled at her after a few moments. "I guess she was just tired," he said, shrugging. The rest of the walk was silent besides her directions until they reached her porch steps. He helped her up them before gazing around.

"Well I should probably go," he said, gazing at the setting sun. "Good night."

"Night," she said, kindly smiling before turning towards her front door.

"Sleep well," he said quietly before descending the stairs. She took hold of the doorknob, glancing back. He was gazing back just at the same moment and her heart pounded as she met his gaze. He smiled before turning away. She waited a few moments before opening the door slowly. As she stepped inside, her heart began to race with fear as she didn't know who was home and who wasn't and she bit her lip. She leaned against the door as she closed it behind her, scanning her surroundings. It was quiet. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. She slowly approached the kitchen. So far, she saw nobody as she knelt down to dig through the cupboards when her gaze caught sight of canned soup. She needed to make something fast and that looked like the only thing she'd be able to make in only a few minutes. She reached for it when she felt a jerk, then the sting. Someone was grasping her hair. She felt as if her heart was racing out of control. Since when was he home?

"What the hell did I tell you?" his raspy voice rumbled, "I don't want to see your ugly face."

He slowly lifted her up, his angry hand clenching her locks of hair. She cringed, biting her lip. "I'm sorry," she stammered, "But you know, I have to eat _sometimes_."

He chuckled. "You're getting smart, huh? Well, you little witch, now isn't one of those times."

He dropped her abruptly and she hit the ground with a thud, her knees sliding against the hard floor and burning, along with her scalp. She scrambled to her feet and hurriedly limped up the stairs, ignoring her complaining wounds and entering her room. She locked the door and leaned against it, making an attempt to relax as she listened to the thumping of her heart in her chest. Once she knew he wasn't following her, she changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, letting herself become absorbed in thoughts. Why was he always hitting her? He was her _father_, and a father should never hit his daughter like that.

Maya cringed, beginning to feel tired. All she wanted to think about was Nathaniel. She didn't want to think about Amber or her parents or her missing enrollment form or anything like that; just Nathaniel. What was it about him? Were they connecting or were these feelings one-sided? Taking a deep breath, she decided to put all her trust in him for now; even if her feelings were one-sided, Nathaniel wasn't the kind of guy to blow a girl off like that. She bit her lip, her heart pounding. It wasn't long before her happy thoughts of Nathaniel pulling her into a happy state of sleep.


	3. Three: True Colors

Maya awoke feeling stiff. It was a bit early but the sun was out and she felt happy enough to get out of bed today. She scavenged her closet for clothing, throwing on a skirt and a matching long-sleeved shirt before slipping her feet into a pair of matching tennis shoes. She fixed her hair and descended the stairs slowly, listening carefully for any voices. When all she heard was silence, she threw together a sandwich and limped out the door, eating it on the way, smiling the whole way.

Once she drew close to the school, the first thing Maya's gaze found was Castiel's bright red hair outside, leaning against a tree. She slowly approached, peaking around the tree once she was close enough to see that he was listening to music. It was so loud that she recognized the song and smiled.

He opened his eyes and sighed, pulling an ear bud out of his ear. "You again?" he sighed.

"That song you're listening to," she said, "You listen to that band? I love them."

He chuckled. "You like them?" he said, "That's uncommon, a girl liking them. You didn't seem like that kind of girl."

"Oh?" she said, "I listen to them sometimes, but what kind of girl do I seem like to you?"

Shrugging, he said, "I don't know, just not the outcast type."

She laughed. "You have it all wrong," she said, "I actually have a lot of trouble making friends. To be honest, you're the first person I've met who likes hard core rock like that. I hate mainstream music, besides dance music."

"I didn't think you were like that," he said, "I saw you talking to mister student body president yesterday, so I just assumed you'd be more like his sister."

Maya grimaced. "No," she said, "I don't like her. If I was anything like her, something would have to be done. There's not room on this planet for two of her." She shivered overdramatically before smiling.

He chuckled. "Alright, little girl," he said, "It looks like Nathaniel is waiting for you." He gestured towards the building. "You don't want to keep mister student body president waiting; he might throw a hissy fit."

Maya giggled although she knew Nathaniel wouldn't do that. "Later," she said, hurrying on a limp towards where Nathaniel stood near the entrance to the building, gazing at her. He smiled as she approached, reaching out and taking her hands to help her up the steps.

"Don't hurt yourself," he said, "Clearly, your ankle is still injured."

She shrugged. "I'll be fine," she said reassuringly, "It's just a sprain; it's not the first I've had."

He smiled. "Even if it's just a sprain, you have to admit that it hurts to walk on it, right?" he said, "Now come on, let's get inside." She walked at his side into the building. Once inside, his steps drew a bit closer to hers and she couldn't hide her smile, not even when he turned towards her. "I didn't know you talked to Castiel," he said, slowly as if he was carefully choosing his words.

Her smile faded. "Hardly," she said, "Does it bother you?"

"Oh no," he said, shaking his head, "Just… don't be influenced by him, okay?"

She nodded. "I can tell he wouldn't be too good of an influence," she said.

He smiled. "Anyways," he said, "I just wanted to thank you again for yesterday."

Shaking her head, she protested, "No, really, you don't have to thank me. I did it to thank you, so now, I guess we're even."

"Even, huh?" he said, "Alright, so we're even."

"Yeah," she said, smiling, "Even though I kind of wish we weren't… taking care of you like that was fun."

He blushed. "Yeah, I think so too," he said, "It'd be nice if we could spend more time together."

Maya grinned, hopefully. "Yes, definitely," she said, "That would be fun. In fact, I'm free today. Does that work for you?"

"Actually," he said, "There's a student council meeting after school today, so I wouldn't be able to. But tomorrow's okay."

"Student council meeting, huh?" she said softly, "We'll see about tomorrow."

"Alright," he said.

"Right," she said, smiling, "Well right now, I have a class to go to, so I'll see you later."

"See you later," he responded.

Thanks to Iris, transporting from class to class wasn't difficult with Maya's sprain, even when Nathaniel wasn't around. She could already tell that her sprain wasn't too bad and it was already beginning to feel better. A few more days and her ankle would feel like new.

"See you tomorrow, Maya," Iris said kindly, smiling. The last bell of the day had just rung and it was time to go.

"See you," Maya said in return, "Thanks for helping me out today; that was really nice of you."

"Don't mention it," Iris said, waving.

Maya smiled before waving back and stepping out in to the hallway. She scanned the groups and crowds of students leaving the building. Nathaniel stood near the student council room, gazing around as if he was looking for someone. After pondering for a few moments on whether or not to go talk to him, she decided to. She approached him with a smile and when his gaze fell on her, he returned her smile warmly.

"Nathan," she said, "Good luck at your student council meeting."

He nodded. "Thank you," he said, "I wish I could hang out with you instead, though."

She shook her head. "It's fine," she said, "Take care of what you have to take care of. I'll see you later, okay?"

"See you," he said.

She paused a few moments to get a good look at his perfect face before blushing and turning towards the door. She melted into the crowds of people but when she glanced back, Nathaniel's gaze was still on her. Her insides warmed and she faced forward. The people surrounding her hustled and bustled out of the door in such a hurry that she felt herself run into someone. She lifted her blurred gaze against the bright sunlight to see bright red hair; she immediately knew it was Castiel.

"Oh, it's you," she said.

"Who were you expecting?" he asked, "Nathaniel?"

"No," she said, "It just caught me by surprise, running into you like this."

"Hey, listen," he said, "Since you're still here, do you want to see something?"

"See what?" she asked. He held up a key ring with keys on it.

"I stole these from the janitor," he said, "They're the keys to the roof."

"To the roof?" she said, grinning, "Oh, that's spicy! I'd love to go!" She took off a strap of her bag and brought it to her chest and rummaging through it. It didn't take her long before her hand emerged with her iPod. "I have this," she said, "We can listen to some of that hard core rock that you seem to like so much."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You're a real piece of work," he said, "Just follow me."

Maya nodded and followed him through the now quiet school. She gazed around, her eyes searching for Nathaniel until they finally passed the student council room. He didn't seem to notice her through the little window on the door, but she felt elated to have seen him one more time, and with that down-to-business look on his face. She wanted to bite her lip at the sight but she knew if Castiel caught the look on her face, he would ask questions so she forced herself not to make any facial expressions. She stepped into a somewhat hidden elevator that she'd never noticed before after he unlocked it with the keys. He pressed the roof button and it began taking us up.

"What's with that look on your face?" he said.

"Well, that's called my face," she said smugly.

He snorted. "Smart ass," he said.

She giggled. "No, I'm kidding," she said, "But it's just a little exciting to be doing this. I messed up a lot of crap at my old school, but I didn't do anything like this. It feels sneaky and scandalous."

"So you were a bad kid at your old school?" he said, "That's surprising."

"Surprising?" she said, "Why's that?"

"The people you talk to," he said, "It makes you seem like a goody-goody."

"Oh," she said, "Nathaniel? Well, no, not necessarily… I mean I guess since I've came here, I haven't acted up much since he's a pretty good influence on me. But Amber… Oh…" She clenched her hand into a fist. "One day, I swear… I'm going to get her."

He laughed. "That sounds interesting," he said, "Let me know if you need any help getting your _revenge_."

"I will," she said, grinning.

The elevator door finally opened and he led the way out, holding out his arm as if he was introducing her to the gorgeous blue sky. The ground below her feet crunched with each step as she gazed at the city around her. The view was perfect.

"Wow," she said, "This was _totally_ worth you stealing the keys."

She stepped to the little brick wall that encircled the roof of the building. She put her hands on it, propping her feet against the little pipe running along the foot of the wall. She leaned forward, getting a better view.

"Don't fall," he said, "I don't want to be charged with your murder."

She giggled. "Don't worry," she said, "I'm a dancer; even with my sprain, my balance is fine."

She glanced back to catch him rolling his eyes. "Show off," he said.

She laughed, turning and sitting on the smooth surface of the brick wall. It was warm due to being under direct sunlight all day long. She set her bag on her lap and took out her iPod, clicking through it until she found a song by the band portrayed in Castiel's t-shirt. She played it, gazing up at Castiel as she delicately set her iPod down on the wall beside her.

"It fits the mood," she said, grinning.

"The mood?" he said, "This song is about drugs."

She giggled. "So?" she said, "Just this beat; it describes how I feel without words."

He gazed at her blankly for a few moments before shaking his head. "Alright, I'm lost," he said, "What are you saying to me?"

Grinning, Maya climbed atop the wall, her slender feet gliding delicately over the smooth surface.

"It's hard to explain," she said, "It just makes me want to dance. I can't do anything, though, until my foot heals." She rolled her eyes before taking a deep breath and extending her arms out on either side of her body and closing her eyes. She ignored the ache that the sprain in her ankle brought upon her as she pulled herself to her toes. She delicately stepped forward. "That Amber," she muttered, "I don't understand why she hates me so much. I mean she's pretty and popular and her brother is the student body president. Why does she have to be so hateful?" She lifted her sprained foot to the knee of her other leg and spun a 180 to face the opposite direction. She took a few more relaxing, delicate steps. Once she felt calm, she stood by her iPod, letting her hands fall gently to her sides. She slowly touched the surface of the wall with her heals before opening her eyes. Castiel was smirking, his arms crossed as he leaned against the elevator door.

"You're pretty weird, you know that, right?" he said.

She shrugged as a gust of wind blew past her, pushing her hair away from her face. She ran her fingers through her hair, putting her free hand on her hip.

"I haven't cared about my sanity since middle school," she muttered, "I couldn't care less now. I just try to be extra nice to people like Iris. She's a nice girl, I just think she wouldn't appreciate my freaky nature."

He chuckled, approaching Maya slowly. He leaned against the wall beside her and she smiled, taking a seat on the ledge. She took a deep breath.

"This is nice," she said, "I wish there were more people like you, who would steal keys to sneak into places they're not allowed to go."

He shrugged. "It's whatever," he said, "I've done this plenty of times before."

"I wonder if there are other places like this where students aren't allowed to go," she said, "It would be fun to explore."

"There's the basement," he said, "But I've already seen that plenty of times."

"Wow," she said, "Can I see it?"

"No," he said without hesitating.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I said so," he said.

"You're no fun," she muttered. They sat in silence for a few long moments, taking in their gorgeous surroundings. Trees were green and luxurious in this gloriously incandescent weather. She inhaled a clear breath of air before exhaling slowly. It felt so good to be here; she felt carefree, although she knew it would only last for a while.

"Alright, little girl," Castiel's voice said, penetrating her thoughts, "It's time to go. I have places to be."

Maya nodded, sliding on to her feet. She winced when most of her weight was on her weaker ankle. Biting her lip, she manned up a bit and stood up straight.

"You okay?" he said, glancing back at her as he led the way to the elevator, "You look like you're about to keel over."

She smiled, shaking her head. "I'm good," she said, "It's just I landed on my sprain."

"Well that was smart of you," he muttered sarcastically, unlocking the elevator door.

"Oh, hush," she said. She carefully stepped into the elevator as Castiel pressed the first floor button. "This was fun," she said, "We should hang out again some time."

Instead of a smart Alec comment to that, like she'd expected from him, he responded, "Yeah, we should."

She smiled as the elevator slowly returned to the first floor and opened. She peered out. It was silent; there was no sign of Nathaniel. She didn't want to get caught with Castiel, who'd stolen those keys to go on the roof and she most certainly didn't want to give Nathaniel the impression that she liked Castiel as someone more than a friend; Castiel was just someone that it was easy to be herself around. She wasn't sure why she felt that way, but she did. She stepped out and waited for Castiel to lock the elevator door. He turned and faced her, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked.

"You know what would be sweet?" he said, holding up the keys, "I would think really highly of you if you snuck into the janitor's closet and put these back in there."

"What?" she gasped, "But the janitor's closet is in the student council room! How am I supposed to get it in there if there's a meeting going on?"

His smile faded and he put his hands on his hips. "Fine," he muttered, "I thought showing you the roof of the school like this would be pretty cool, but I guess you're not as cool as I thought you were."

She glared at him, sighing exasperatedly as she snatched the keys from his hand. "Okay, fine I'll do it," she said, "Just explain to me how in the world I'm supposed to get this in there."

"Easy," he said, "The people at the student council meetings face the opposite direction that you'll be in. Just slip in and out so nobody notices you." He smirked devilishly. "Are you afraid of mister student body president getting _mad_ at you?"

She smiled. "Why?" she said, "Are you jealous?"

His smirk faded and he blushed. "You wish, little girl," he said, "Just go put the keys back."

She nodded, turning away and creeping towards the student council room, her heart pounding so loudly it was all she could hear. She peeked into the little window to the student council room door; Castiel was right about everybody facing the opposite direction, but what if one of them happened to turn around? She took a deep breath and managed to crack the door open silently. She got down on to her knees and peered into the crack. She could hear Nathaniel's voice. Something inside her body flickered and her heart was beating so quickly that she suddenly felt confident. Leaving the door open, she crept in on her hands and knees slowly so as the key ring in her mouth wouldn't jingle. She crept towards the door that had a label reading "Janitor" on it, her heart pounding. She listened to Nathaniel's voice without hearing a word he said; something about the fact that he was in the room with her again made her feel light and happy. She bit her lip, reaching for the Janitor's closet door knob. Her fingers grasped it and opened it slowly. It creaked but before anybody could look back, she was already inside.


	4. Four: Want To Fall

**Chapter Three**

Maya bit her lip, her heart racing in fear. She waited a few moments, the short silence seeming to last hours, before peering out of the small crack between the door and the doorframe. A few people had glanced back but they were just turning forward again as her gaze found them.

She relaxed a bit when she heard Nathaniel say, "It must've been the wind."

After waiting a few moments, Maya hung up the keys before slipping back out, careful not to make the door creak again. She left it open before hurriedly crawling to the door and closing it silently behind her. She took a deep breath, getting to her feet.

"That was so sloppy," Castiel laughed, "I can't believe you actually did that."

"What?" Maya said, "But you said…!"

He shrugged, his laughter ongoing. "I just wanted to see if you'd do it," he said, "I would've never gone in there during a meeting."

"Well, I almost got caught, thanks to you," she muttered, "Let's just leave now."

Maya led the way outside, glancing back to an amused Castiel every so often. She pushed open the doors and sat at the end of the rough brick railing. The wind was stronger than it was a few moments ago, back on the rooftop. Castiel still had that sarcastic smile on his face as he leaned against the railing.

"Even if you got caught," he said, "That would've still been as hilarious as it was. And anyways, a little detention wouldn't kill anybody."

"I know," she said, shrugging, "But don't you think it's beneficial to stay on the student council president's good side? Detentions are a drag and I'd rather be outside, avoiding them."

"No," he said, "It's not worth being friends with him. Anyways, it's a little too late; he already hates me and I hate him."

"I know," she said, "I'm just saying. But didn't you say you were going somewhere?"

He shrugged. "I guess I can spare a few minutes," he said.

She smiled, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees, letting her gaze fall to her feet.

"What's with that look on your face?" he said.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head, "It's just that it kind of feels a little good, knowing that the rebellious bad boy wants to hang out with me."

"Rebellious bad boy?" he chuckled, "Who am I rebelling against?"

She grinned, holding up a balled fist. "The man," she said overdramatically.

"The man?" he said, "You sound like a hippie."

"Oh, I was a hippie when I was a freshman," she said, "Took me a summer to change into an outcast. That's how I've been since my sophomore year." She smiled, reminiscing, "Every year there was a group of girls that didn't like me and tried their hardest to get rid of me."

Castiel breathed a sigh. "That's how the preps are about what you call the outcasts," he said, "Anyways, they were probably just jealous because you're cute."

"Wait, what?" she said, "Could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you clearly."

He looked away, his brow furrowing as he blushed. "Shut up," he muttered.

She giggled. "Aw, Castiel," she said, "_You're_ the cute one."

He rolled his eyes. "So what, are you waiting for Nathaniel?" he said, changing the subject quickly. And to an odd one at that; talking about Nathaniel always seemed to make him angry.

"Yeah," she said, "You have plans and I don't want to go home."

"Oh," he said, "Well the meetings don't usually last long."

"How do you know?" she asked.

He chuckled. "You don't need to know," he said.

"But I want to know," she responded.

"But you don't need to," he said.

"But I want to," she said, "You don't have to keep everything to yourself, you know. I'm not one to tell secrets."

He stayed silent, thoughtfully gazing up at the sky, crossing his arms over his chest. The silence seemed to last a few moments before the door behind her. Maya turned, lifting her gaze to see Nathaniel. He smiled, opening his mouth to speak when his gaze found Castiel behind her, who was still gazing off into space.

Maya nudged Castiel. "Hey, Castiel," she said, "Are you in there?"

He slowly turned to face her, completely ignoring Nathaniel. "Oh yeah," he said, "I gotta go."

"Later," she said after him as he walked away. She hopped to the ground, careful not to land on her sprain, smiling up at Nathaniel. He had an uncomfortable look on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know…" he said slowly, "It's just… well… you were hanging out with him?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't planned," she said, "We ran into each other leaving and he wanted to show me something."

"I see," he said, "So what were you doing in the janitor's closet earlier?"

Her face flushed red. "Oh, gosh," she said, "I, um… you knew it was me?"

"Yeah," he said, "I could see your shoes since I was at the end. Nobody else saw you so I covered for you."

"Well that's kind of embarrassing," she mumbled.

"What were you doing?" he said, "If you'd have gotten caught, you would've gotten in trouble for sure. Those meetings aren't supposed to be heard or interrupted."

"I didn't get caught though," she said, defending herself, "And it was a dare."

His brow went up in surprise. "A _dare?" _he said, before laughing slightly, "You almost got suspended from school for a dare? Are you serious? I thought you were better than that."

"I was just trying to have some fun," she said, "And I didn't get caught anyway so there's nothing to yell at me about."

"Yes, there is," he said, "I want you to understand that just because Castiel says something would be good, it doesn't make it the good thing to do."

"I get it," she said, "You don't like Castiel. But Nathaniel, he doesn't try to be good; he tries to have fun."

"Having fun won't get you into college," he said, "It's not going to get you a job either."

"Nathaniel," she sighed, "Please don't talk to me like I'm stupid. Have you seen my grades? My grades are perfect. I qualify for scholarships at so many schools. You don't need to talk to me like I'm not going anywhere in my life, because I know I am."

Nathaniel met her gaze. What was that look in his eyes? Was he mad? He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said, "You just had me worried, okay? I didn't want you to get caught."

"Thank you for worrying, but it's not necessary," she said slowly so that he wouldn't take her words offensively, "I can take care of myself, okay?"

He smiled. "Yeah," he said, "You're right."

She grinned. "Alright," she said, "I'm hungry. Do you want to go eat out somewhere?"

"Yeah, definitely," he said, "There's this café that I like that's downtown."

"Sounds great," she said. They walked side-by-side the entire half an hour walk to the café he'd mentioned. They had small talk conversations that had her laughing hysterically every few minutes. She enjoyed every minute of it.

After dinner, Nathaniel walked Maya home again and she hugged him tightly goodbye. She crept inside her home to find that it was chilled inside and empty; her parents must be out. She took her chance and rushed up the stairs on a limp. She changed into pajamas after locking her bedroom door and she laid down on her bed, elevating her sprain. The smile on her face just wouldn't fade. She knew she wasn't in love with Nathaniel, at least not yet; but she knew she had feelings for him. She wanted him to know her and she wanted to know him. She _wanted _to fall in love with him, although she wasn't sure how long that would take. She'd never actually fallen in love before; come to think of it, she didn't even have many crushes before and her past boyfriends were few and very selective. One of her lifelong fears was a broken heart, so in order to prevent it, she never fell in love. This was the first time she trusted a guy enough to want to love him; although they hadn't known each other long, she was sure she could trust him with her heart.

And there she slept, Nathaniel on her mind and her hand on her heart.


	5. Five: My Closest Friends

**Chapter Five**

The next two weeks went by quickly. Maya managed to avoid Amber and hadn't had any conflicts with her parents. She spent every day with Nathaniel, and occasionally Castiel when Nathaniel was busy. She was finally beginning to realize that her life was coming together here in the small city of Sweet Amoris.

Maya's sprain had taken a little longer than a normal sprain would've healed since she walked on it too much, but it had finally healed after the course of those two weeks. It was another lovely morning and the sun was just rising over the horizon. She pulled on a pair of black and white striped stockings and a little black dress, pulling a pair of boots on to her feet. She fixed her hair and descended the stairs. She didn't bother to make herself a breakfast out of eagerness to see Nathaniel. She power walked to school, waving at Castiel once she arrived but passing him by. She hopped up the stairs and stepped through the open doors, standing on her toes in search of Nathaniel. He was nowhere in sight.

Maya smiled when she found the student council room closed. Maybe he was in there. She peered in through the window and there he was, sitting by himself at a desk. He was facing the direction that she was so she couldn't see his face. She gave the door a gentle knock before cracking it open.

"Nathan?" she said, quietly. When he didn't respond, she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She approached him slowly. Was he just too absorbed in his work to hear her or was he upset? "Nathan?" she said again, her voice a little softer. Her hand gently took hold of his shoulder and she leaned forward, peaking at his face. She gasped in surprise; he was _crying_? She blinked, assuming she was just seeing things but when her eyes opened, he was still pouting and tears were still streaming down his face. Without question, she pulled him into her arms, kneeling down and resting her knees on the edge of his seat. She held his head against her chest. The sweet scent of his shampoo wafted up to her and she held him a bit tighter. "Nathan," she murmured, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, sniffling.

"Nathaniel," she said softly, "You already know that you can tell me anything. If there's someone bothering you, you can tell me. I might not look it but I've beaten plenty of people before! If it's anything, anything at all, I don't want you to think you can't tell me. Please tell me. I want to help you."

"You wouldn't understand," he said quietly.

"Even so," she said, lifting one of her hands and stroking his hair gently, "You can still vent to me to get it off your chest, you know? Come on, don't be afraid. I'm all ears for you."

There was a long pause before he breathed a long sigh. "It's my mother," he said quietly.

"Your mother?" she said, "What did she do to you?"

"Everything," he said, "I always try my hardest to impress her but she's always ignoring me, meanwhile she spoils Amber. She doesn't even feed me anymore…"

Maya stayed quiet for a moment, closing her eyes and letting it settle in what he said. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "Do you know why?"

He stifled a sob in her shirt and her heart raced. She hated to see him like this, and yet she didn't want to let him go. "It's… hard to talk about," he said.

"It's alright," she murmured, still stroking his hair, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

There was a long pause before Nathaniel suddenly pulled her into his arms so that she was pulled on to his lap. He held her tightly by the waist, his face buried in her shoulder. Once she relaxed a bit, she held him by the shoulders, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Maya," he murmured, leaning back and meeting her gaze, "Thank you for being there for me."

She smiled. "And I always will be," she said softly. The depth of emotion he gazed at her with made her heart flutter and gave her the strongest urge to kiss him, but she knew it wouldn't be appropriate if her feelings weren't returned. She lifted her hands and wiped away the last of his tears. She bit her lip. Was he going to kiss her? The way he pursed and un-pursed his lips made her urge to kiss him even stronger. The bell's ringing startled her to her feet. "Oh, she said, "It's time to get to class already. Um… well I'll see you later, Nathan."

He fixed his tie and the pens in his pocket before getting to his feet. "I guess so," he said, smiling warmly.

She smiled, slowly turning to the door, hoping with all her heart that he'd stop her, spin her around and pull her into the most romantic kiss of her life. When she reached the door, she bit her lip as she took hold of the doorknob. She pulled open the door, but he wasn't stopping her as she closed it behind her. She sighed, shuffling to her first class. All the seats were taken so she sat in the back beside a girl she never noticed before. The girl had straight, shoulder-length reddish-blonde thin hair with swept across bangs and was small in height and weight, clad in a baggy t-shirt with a jacket over her shoulders and a pair of torn up skinny jeans. She had pretty green eyes and freckles spotted her face. She sat there quietly, playing with chibi anime character collectables, and seemed to be having fun with them at that.

"Hey, I know that anime," Maya whispered to her as she sat down, "That kid's from the one with the demon butler, right?"

The girl nodded slowly.

"Well, I'm Maya," she said, "What's your name?"

"Um," the girl stammered, "Well, it's Kate, but… I like to be called Orihime."

"Orihime?" Maya smiled, "So you're an anime freak, huh?"

Orihime nodded.

"How many have you seen?" she asked.

"Too many to count," Orihime answered simply.

Maya chuckled, resting her elbow on the desk and holding up her face in her hand. "That's pretty cool," she said, "I've seen a few. I spend too much time away from my laptop though."

"That's nice," Orihime said.

Continuing to smile, Maya gazed at her. Something about her innocent and shy attitude was charming in Maya's opinion.

"You know," Maya said, "I think I'm gonna like you. You wanna hang out today? I'll have to ask if Nathaniel's okay with it, though."

"Nathaniel," Orihime said, "Amber's brother?"

"Ugh," Maya muttered, "Don't remind me that he is. They're complete polar opposites though."

"Oh," she said, "No thank you, I don't associate with Amber or anybody who's associated with her at all."

Maya smiled. "He's really nice," she said, "And he hates his sister as much as a brother could, believe me. Give him a chance."

"No," she said simply, "Sorry."

"Okay," she said, "What about Castiel? Would you hang out with me if we were with him?"

"Castiel?" she responded, her face flushing red.

"If you'd rather hang out alone, I'll do that too," Maya said, "I just wanted someone else there to break the ice."

"I'll hang out with you and Castiel," she said quickly, blushing, "I-I just… I'm gonna stop talking now."

Maya giggled before focusing her attention on the lesson the teacher gave.

It was after school. The first thing Maya did was rush to the student council room. She opened the door, gazing around. There was a couple other girls with Nathaniel, helping him with his work and whatnot. She couldn't help but feel jealous; she had no classes with him meanwhile these girls were a part of the student council and could help him whenever.

"Maya," he said, smiling at her as he set down the papers in his hands and approached her.

"Hey, Nathan," she said, returning his smile, "You look busy."

"Yeah," he said sheepishly, "Last minute work. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, not at all," she said, "In fact, I met this girl today and I thought it would be fun to hang out with her so this is kind of convenient."

"Oh I see," he said, "Well, take care, Maya."

She nodded. "I only will if you do," she said softly, hoping to give off a hint. She turned without waiting to see his reaction and hurried out the door. She found Orihime standing just outside the room. "You waited," she said, smiling, "Alright, Castiel's probably outside. Let's go."

Maya led the way through the crowd of people until she spotted bright red hair outside. She took Orihime's wrist and hurried towards him.

"Hey, Castiel," she said, "Are you busy today?"

"Yeah," he responded, crossing his arms.

"Okay," she said, "So where do you want to hang out?"

"I just said I'm busy," he said, before eying Orihime, "Who's this?"

"This is Orihime," she said, smiling.

"Orihime?" he said, "What is that, like Japanese? You look like a white chick."

Maya giggled, glancing back at Orihime, whose face was blushing red. "Her real name is Kate," she said, "She just prefers to be called Orihime."

"I like Kate better," he said.

"Please don't call me that," Orihime said, her voice soft and tiny in comparison to Castiel's.

Castiel snorted. "Okay," he said sarcastically, "Does it matter anyways? We're probably never going to talk again."

"Aw, don't say that," Maya said, "That's mean, Castiel. What if you two end up as friends?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, "Anyways, what are you still doing here? I told you that I'm busy."

"Doing what?" she asked.

"Nothing you need to know about," he said.

Maya pouted. "I thought we already talked about keeping secrets, Castiel," she said.

Rolling his eyes again, he sighed. "If you're going to whine about it, it's a band practice," he muttered.

"You're in a band?" Maya said, brightening up, "That's so cool! Can we watch you guys practice?"

"No," he said sternly, "And stop asking because I'm not going to let you."

"Why?" she asked, "It'd be fun."

"If I hang out with you for a while will you leave me alone about that?" he asked.

"Yeah, definitely," Maya said, although she knew that she wouldn't. By the skeptical look in Castiel's eyes, she could tell he saw right through her agreement.

"Fine," he said, "What should we do? Sneak on to the roof again?"

"No we already did that, so I'll be bored," she said. She thought for a few moments before grinning, "Let's break into the drama club room! Drama club is on Fridays, so we don't have to worry about running into them. There'll be lots of costumes there, so it'll be fun."

"That sounds stupid," he muttered.

"No, no, it'll be fun," she said, "I want to see what color wig I'd look good in." She glanced back at Orihime. "Do you know what color hair you like?"

"Um," she stammered, "A-any but the one I have."

"Why?" Maya asked, "Your hair is cute on you."

"Can you guys talk about this inside?" he said, "I don't feel like sitting here and watching you guys talk about this."

"So you'll break into the drama room with us?" Maya asked hopefully.

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered.

"Yay!" she exclaimed.


	6. Six: Our True Colors

"Alright, we have to think of a plan," Maya said, "The drama room is locked after school unless there's drama club."

"Easy," Castiel said, "Just steal the keys from the student council room."

"No, we're not doing what we did last time," she said sharply.

"I'm not talking about the janitor's keys," he said, smirking, "I'm talking about the keys of mister president."

"Nathaniel?" she said, "You expect me to steal from him?"

He shrugged. "Shouldn't be difficult, seeing as he practically starts drooling whenever he talks to you," he said.

She blushed. "You really think so?" she said. Before he could respond, she shook her head, pulling herself back on track in the conversation. "Wait, I don't follow you," she said, "How am I supposed to steal the keys if he's talking to me?"

"Not exactly," he said, gesturing to Orihime, "You talk to him for a while, keep him distracted. This one is small enough to sneak in unseen and take the keys off of his desk."

Orihime's face flustered. "I don't do bad things," she said quickly.

"C'mon," Castiel muttered, "Don't be so uptight. Have you seen him and Maya talking? I doubt you'll get caught."

"But… but still…" she said softly.

Maya smiled. "You're so cute," she said, "Don't worry about it. Even if you do somehow get caught, I'll try to talk Nathaniel out of getting you in trouble. He and I are pretty close."

Orihime sighed. "Okay… but make sure I don't get caught, please," she said.

"I will, don't worry," she said, smiling, "Come on, guys. Castiel, you just stand there and watch."

"Fine with me," he said, shrugging. She grinned, leading the way back in the building. She stopped near the student council room, gesturing to Orihime and Castiel to wait outside. She rapped lightly on the door before opening it slowly. She peered inside.

"Nathan?" she said, stepping in.

"Oh," he said, looking up, "Maya, did you need something?"

"No," she said, "Nothing in particular. I was just wondering if I could hang out in here until you're done. The girl I was supposed to hang out with just totally bailed on me." She waved as if it was nothing too important, stepping in and leaving the door half open. She took a seat on top of one of the desks next to Nathaniel.

"Sure, you can stay," he said, smiling warmly.

"Alright," she said, "So what kind of paperwork are you doing? I could help if you need me too."

Nathaniel began to explain what she should be doing as Maya's eyes wandered to the open door. She could see Castiel's arms nudging Orihime inside. She was sitting in a direction so that she was facing them and Nathaniel was facing away. Orihime was halfway in when Nathaniel's voice reached her state of mind.

"Are you listening?" he asked, looking up at her, "It's no trouble if you don't want to help; your company is good enough for me."

Maya smiled. She needed to keep distracting him. She reached towards him and gently brushed his bangs away from his eyes. "You know," she said, "I really love your eyes. They're so pretty."

He blushed, smiling sweetly as his gaze fell to the ground. "Thank you," he said, "I love your eyes too, Maya."

Maya grinned before letting her gaze wander back to Orihime. She had retrieved the keys and was trying to sneak out without drawing attention to herself. Maya forced Nathaniel into a firm hug, which he returned gladly. She held him, ignoring the stares of the other two girls. She couldn't help but notice how warm his neck was against her cheek. She closed her eyes, embracing him warmly, wishing she could kiss him. She wanted to love him. Why was it so difficult for her to bring down her walls and just let him in? She already knew that she liked him more than she'd liked any guy before but she wanted to l_ove_ him. One of his hands gently moved further along the small of her back while the other caressed her side. Her body tingled as she longed for him to touch her more.

The cough from outside in the hallway startled her back to reality. She opened her eyes and her gaze found Castiel, holding the keys and waving her over.

"Um, Nathaniel," she said softly, "As much as I'd like to stay here hugging you like this, I really have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in like two hours, okay?" She slid off of the desk, walking towards the door slowly.

"Two hours?" he said after her, "But why do you need so much time?"

"I'm a girl and I have to do girly things," she rambled as she approached the door, "You know, go, wash my hands, and then I'll have to fix my nails, and then my hair will be messy by then and my makeup will be smudged and then I'll want to iron my clothes and take a shower at that…" The door closed behind her as she stepped out. She grasped Orihime and Castiel's wrists in her hands and dashed down the hall.

"Slow down," Castiel said, frustrated, "Let go of my wrists." Maya dropped their wrists, turning to face them. "You expect him to believe what you said?" he said, "The bathrooms outside of the gym don't even have showers in them."

She smiled. "I know," she said, "Why do you think I ran?"

"He wouldn't have noticed anyway," Castiel said, "He's obviously not used to being touched by women."

"Oh shut it, Castiel," she sighed, "He has girls hanging around him all the time, unfortunately. Anyways, I don't see any girls throwing themselves at you."

He scowled. "Are you joking?" he said, "You haven't left me alone since I met you. You think I _wanted_ to talk to you?"

She snatched the keys from Castiel, holding them up and plastering a dumb-founded facial expression on her face. "Hey, Maya, wanna go chill on the roof with me?" she said, imitating Castiel, "We should hang out again sometime. You're cooler than I thought you'd be. All those preppy girls are jealous because you're cute." She put her hands on her hips. "Sound familiar?"

He clenched and unclenched his fists and his jaw, grimacing. "That was before you were acting like such a…" he bit his lip, keeping himself from saying the word that she knew all too well he wanted to say, "Now I know exactly why you get along so well with Nathaniel. You two are exactly the same."

"Well maybe I wouldn't be if you weren't acting like such an egotistical maniac," she snapped.

He snatched the key ring from her hand and threw it on the floor, lifting his fist. She winced, holding her arms above her face. The next few seconds seemed to pass like hours before Orihime's scream pierced the air.

"Stop it!" were the words she made out from Orihime's scream.

Maya waited a few silent moments before peering out from behind her arms. Orihime was the first thing she saw, holding up her arms to prevent Castiel from hurting her. But what startled Maya the most was that behind Castiel stood Nathaniel, his arms holding back Castiel's.

"Castiel," Nathaniel said slowly, "You need to _calm down_. In case you haven't noticed, you're just about to hit not one, but two girls."

Castiel panted, pulling his arms away from Nathaniel's. "So what now, student body president?" he said, "Are you going to report me to the principle and get me in trouble?"

Nathaniel adjusted the cuffs to his shirt before smiling warmly at Maya. "It's up to her," he said, "What do you think, Maya? Should I report him?"

Maya took a few steady breaths to relax herself. She stood up straight, running her fingers through her hair. "Report him?" she repeated slowly before shaking her head, "No, of course not. If you heard what just happened, it was all my fault. I was the one who provoked him."

Nathaniel shrugged. "Alright," he said, "I don't think so, but whatever you say goes. Oh, and one more thing." He bent over, lifting the key ring off of the ground and holding it up as he stood up straight. "If you wanted the keys, you could've just asked," he said, "I'm not supposed to let students use them but I can definitely make an exception for you, Maya." He tossed them towards her and she caught them. His eyes softened. "Thanks for the hug and the compliment, but I knew you were up to something as soon as you sat on the desk," he said, "I'm just going to hope that you weren't just messing with me, okay?"

"I wasn't," she insisted honestly, "I meant what I said and what I did."

"I hope so," he said, "Anyways, I have some work to get back to. Don't do anything illegal in the school."

Maya watched him walk away, her heart pounding with the urge to hurry after him and hug him from behind and confess all the thoughts and feelings she'd had for him. He was amazing; although he hated Castiel, he somehow managed to kill the tension without trying to. Just his warm smile and his kind eyes made everything better.

"It's not as fun when we're allowed to," Castiel muttered.

Maya lifted her gaze to him. Was he just going to act like it hadn't happened? But what were they supposed to say about it? The best thing was probably to pretend it just hadn't happened. She smiled.

"You're right," she said, "But I still want to go in." She unlocked the door and stepped in, gazing around. "Now it's time to find the costumes."

She opened a door on the side and to her surprise it was like an enormous, bedroom-sized closet filled with costumes and accessories.

"No way," she exclaimed.

Maya took Orihime's wrist, giving Castiel a gentle push.

"Sit down," she said, "We'll dress up."

She pulled Orihime into the closet, closing the door before rummaging through the clothing.

"Wear whatever you want, even Nathaniel gave us permission to play around in here," she said, glancing back at Orihime, "Or do you want me to pick something out for you?"

Orihime shrugged. "I don't really care," she said softly.

"Awesome," Maya said.


	7. Seven: Promises

After trying on numerous costumes and wigs, Maya had changed back into her outfit that she had arrived in. Orihime was in the closet changing, leaving her alone with Castiel.

"Wasn't this fun?" Maya said, nudging him lightly with her elbow. He simply shrugged.

"Maya," he said quietly, "There's something that's been bothering me since the… incident in the hallway."

"Yeah?" she said, "What's up?"

"Why did you cover for me like that?" he said, "You had the chance to get me in trouble and you blew it."

"You're my friend," she said, "Even if you don't like it, you're my friend."

"That's true, you're pretty impulsive," he said, smiling, "I'm sure _Orihime_ didn't want to hang out with you in the beginning."

She shrugged, grinning. "I still got her to," she said. Her smile slowly faded before she said, slowly, "Castiel… remember when we went out for lunch last week? I thought you said that… you didn't hit women like that. You said that you're a gentleman."

He bit his lip. "Yeah," he said, "I usually am… but when I was comparing you to _him_, I just pictured him saying everything you were saying to me and I kind of lost control."

"Nathaniel?" she said, "You hate him that much?"

"Think of it like this," he said, "If Amber said something to you like you said to me, wouldn't you just want to knock her out?"

"Yes," Maya said without hesitation, "I would, not just try to. I'd enjoy every minute of it too."

He chuckled. "Exactly!" he said.

"But I don't see how anybody could hate Nathaniel," she said, "He's so sweet."

"To you," he muttered, "If he talked to me the way he talked to you, I'd hit him."

"So if he's too mean, you'll hit him and if he's too nice, you'll hit him?" she said.

"I meant all lovey-dovey," he said, "You must be blind if I can see it and you can't."

"I think I'm blind then," she said.

"Are you kidding me?" he sighed, "Pay more attention and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I'll try, I guess," she said, shrugging, just as the door to the closet opened. Maya led the two out of the drama room, closing the door and locking it after they'd all stepped out.

"Well I gotta go to practice," Castiel said, taking a few steps in the opposite direction of the door, "Later."

"Wait," Maya said, "Why are you walking that way? The door is that way." She pointed towards it.

"I know," he said, "I… have to go to the bathroom. Don't wait for me. Bye."

He hurried off, leaving Maya puzzled with Orihime. "Well that was a little weird," she said, beginning to walk with her. "Hey, do you mind if we stop by the student council room before we leave? I want to delay as much time as possible before I have to go home." Orihime shrugged. "Great," she said, "I just wanted to thank Nathaniel for what he did."

Maya took a few steps forward once they reached the student council room. She cracked the door open, smiling at Nathaniel as he thanked the other two girls for helping him. It seemed he was finishing up; perfect timing.

"Nathan?" she said quietly. He lifted his gaze towards her.

"Oh," he said, "Did you need something?"

She stepped inside, tossing him the keys. "I just wanted to say thanks for helping me back there," she said, "And I'm sorry for being such a bother to you."

"A bother?" he said, chuckling, "Maya, you're not a bother to me. You're just the opposite. I've just finished everything I needed to do for today. How about I treat you to dinner?"

She smiled. "Really, you would?" she said. Then it daunted on her that Orihime was still with her. "Oh," she said, "Well actually I'm still with a friend right now."

He approached her, peering out from over her shoulder. "I could treat the both of you," he said.

"I feel like that's asking too much of you, though," Maya said.

"I-I can pay for myself," Orihime's stammering voice chimed in.

"Are you sure?" Nathaniel said. Orihime nodded. "Then it's settled," he said, smiling warmly.

"Great," Maya said, grinning, "I still feel a little guilty, though. I'd pay for myself but I left all my money at home. I hope you don't mind."

"No," he said, "Not at all. In fact, it's my pleasure."

Still smiling, Maya took a few steps out as Nathaniel thanked the two girls one more time. He left the room and walked at one side of her, Orihime on the other.

"Where are we going?" Maya asked as they left the building.

"Where do you want to go?" Nathaniel asked her.

"It's your money," she said, shrugging, "You decide."

"No, I think I'm going to let the pretty lady decide," he said.

She blushed. "Um," she said, "Orihime, where do you want to go?"

"I honestly don't care," she answered quietly.

"Well then I guess it is up to me," Maya sighed before tapping her chin, "You know I've wanted to try out that Italian place near your house, Nathan. It's not too expensive and the food looks great."

"I like that place," he said, smiling. They began walking side-by-side on the sidewalk, just talking. Maya kept asking Orihime questions, pushing her to talk more to participate in the conversations. She gradually began to talk more but the more she talked, the more she stammered her words. It didn't take long until they reached the restaurant. They took their seats and ordered, Maya sitting beside Orihime and across from Nathaniel.

"So," she said, feeling a bit nervous, "What kind of work were you doing that kept you in so late?"

He shrugged, running his hand through his hair as his gaze wandered to the window beside them. "It was just a lot of work that the principle left to me," he said, "She must've had a bad day today."

Maya set her elbow on the table, cupping her cheek with the palm of her hand. His golden-brown eyes shined so brightly in the setting sunlight, she found her heart pounding. She couldn't help but notice, although she appreciated his stunning good looks, he stood out in this casual restaurant. She couldn't figure out what it was about him that made her eyes return to him no matter how much she tried to make them wander. Then she bit her lip, coming to a realization. He was the only one wearing a tie. She stifled a giggle.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"It's you," she said warmly, "Your tie makes you stand out a little. Everyone else might as well be here in pajamas."

"Oh," he said, "But this is what I wore to school, so I don't see what I should do about it."

She bit her lip again, leaning forward and untying his tie before pulling apart the first few buttons. She snatched up his tie before he could grab it and she stuffed it in her back pocket. She also claimed the pens in his breast pocket, putting those in her bag.

"Now roll up your sleeves," she said.

He nodded and did as she said. She felt her cheeks heat up; he looked like a model.

"What's that look on your face?" he asked.

She opened her mouth, but felt speechless. Her face got even hotter as she managed to stammer out, "Y-you…"

The waitress arrived at their table at the perfect moment, setting down there plates.

"Is there anything else you'd like?" she asked.

After a moment of silence, Maya said for the other two, "No, thank you."

The waitress nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Maya picked at her food, avoiding meeting Nathaniel's gaze.

"Maya," he chuckled, his tone of voice easy going and gentle, "You're so cute."

She was sure by now her face was beet red; it was so hot. She was just convincing herself to eat when Orihime's voice chimed in.

"Are you two going to get married?"

Maya wasn't sure if it was possible to feel anymore embarrassed, but somehow she found herself bursting into a fit of giggles.

The rest of the night seemed to go by too quickly for her but she was probably just having too much fun. She and Nathaniel walked Orihime home together before walking back to Maya's house. She took a step up the stairs, turning to face him. He stood only inches away from her. Again that urge to kiss him was teasing her.

"Well," he said, his voice soft, "Goodnight."

Maya gazed up at the night sky. The stars and full moon shined brilliantly above their heads. She felt her heart pounding. She felt herself blush a bit before gazing at him.

"Nathan," she said softly, "I don't want you to leave yet."

He smiled warmly, his eyes softening. "I wish I could stay," he said, softly, "But it's a little late, don't you think?"

"No," she insisted, "It's not too late!"

"It is, for a school night," he pointed out.

"Who cares?" she said, "We're going to the same place anyways. Please stay."

He blushed. "You want me to spend the night?"

She bit her lip quickly. "N-not like that," she stammered, "I didn't mean to do anything… _bad_. Just to spend more time with you." She scratched the back of her head. "I guess I'm just being a little needy right now. You don't have to if you don't want to."

He smiled, lifting his hands and caressing her sides, pulling her into a comfortingly warm embrace. She was leaning her body on him completely, her toes limply touching the stair she had been standing on.

"I do want to," he murmured into her shoulder, "But I can't; I would have to run home and get my things and I still have some homework to do. Maybe some other time, okay?"

"Okay," she said, softly, "Promise?"

"I promise," he murmured in response.


	8. Eight: Cherry Red Beauty

Another two weeks had gone by in what felt like the snap of my fingers. Spending so much time with Maya always made me so happy that time seemed to go by faster. Every morning, I woke up with her on my mind and I went to bed with the same ideal. She was perfect and I didn't want to let that go.

I laid in my bed, a smile stretched across my face without my permission. The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains. Normally I would feel stressed out on weekends and would try to find someone to spend it with, even if I didn't want to, or completely absorb myself in something. I would do anything to keep myself from seeing my mother. It was quite difficult at times; usually on Sundays. But since I met Maya, I've been spending my weekends with her.

Just thinking about her made my heart race. I've never felt that way before towards any other girl. I was just so in love with her; so in love I occasionally found it painful. But to see her beautiful smiling face always made me more than happy. I would've done anything for her. That is, excluding confessing to her; I was afraid she would reject me and our friendship would be ruined. I just wished I knew how she felt about me; that would make everything so much easier for me.

My cell phone beeped on the nightstand beside me. I lifted it up and it read 'New Message'. I opened the message to find that it was from Maya; she was letting me know that she would be ready in an hour. Perfect. I had just enough time to get ready myself. I climbed out of bed, bathed, and was dressed and ready in a little under an hour. Instead of the semi-formal attire I normally took up, I decided going casual would be okay. Knowing Maya, she wouldn't mind much anyways. I was clad in a name-brand t-shirt and a pair of loose skinny jeans. It was chilly out, so I threw on a hoody over my top. I combed my hair, took my cell phone and texted her to let her know I would be walking to pick her up from Orihime's. She and Orihime had regular weekly sleepovers once a weekend since they'd met. I couldn't help but wonder what it was they talked about. I mentally pushed it aside as I grabbed my wallet and stuffed it in my pocket, labeling the thought as something that wasn't my business.

I hurried out the door without eating breakfast so that I didn't have to see my mother. I walked slow, my hands stuffed in my hoody pockets. My heart was pounding with eagerness and I was more than ecstatic to see her. I was nearly halfway there when I turned a corner, facing the street I was going to cross. I bit my lip. There she stood with a short black overcoat on and a little black skirt over stockings and flats on her feet. Her skin was a bit pale but her lips, cheeks and nose were a bit rosy from the chilly weather. Her deep, beautiful green eyes darted back and forth at the traffic. It seemed she was planning to cross the opposite direction as me. I smiled, approaching the cross walk. She noticed me only when the traffic cleared and the light went red. The smile she flashed me had her glowing. I crossed to meet her at the other side.

"Nathan," she said, happily, bouncing on her toes a couple times.

"What are you doing here?" I chuckled, although I was more than happy to see her, "I told you I was going to get you."

"I know," she said, sheepishly, "But I just couldn't wait; I wanted to see you."

I felt my heart skip a beat. I hated when she said things like this; it was always misleading. She tucked her arm in mine and we began walking together.

"Let's get some breakfast," she said, "We're close to that café we ate at the first time we ate out together. We can eat there, and then get going."

I couldn't stop smiling. "Are you nervous?" he asked.

"A little," she admitted, "But dancing is my passion, so it's okay."

"I'm sure you'll do great," I said, "You're an amazing dancer."

"Thanks, Nathan," she murmured, hugging my arm, "You always know how to make me feel better."

I continued to smile. "So how long do we have until your audition?" he asked.

"About two hours," she responded, "That's plenty of time for us to hang out first."

"Great," I said, happily.

The walk was short to the café. We had a great time. It didn't take us long to order and eat. We had a great time. I knew I could talk to her about anything and she always understood how I felt about things. I wasn't sure what she had done over the course of the month that had passed since I met her, but she was all that went through my mind.

After we'd finished eating and paid for our food, Maya got to her feet first.

"We still have a little more than an hour," she said, "We can just walk around for a while, I guess."

I nodded and began to follow her out. She had her chin up while she walked, so I guess she didn't notice the puddle on the ground and in her flats, it was probably easy to fall. Just as I opened my mouth to warn her about it, she slipped. I had a mini panic attack as I reached out as quickly as I could to catch her. Too little too late, she had already fallen but landed in the empty side of someone's booth. I breathed a sigh of relief; at least it was cushioned.

"I'm sorry," Maya said sincerely to the girl who sat at the other side of the booth.

Until Maya spoke, the girl didn't seem to notice her. She was so absorbed in the beautiful piece of art she worked on. She had pastels scattered about the table and the image seemed to be of the scenery outside the window beside her. The girl had a doll-like appearance, with her bright, cherry-crimson hair that fell in thick, elegant curls down to her waist like a waterfall. Her eyes were a pale sky blue and were large, encircled with sparkling eye shadow and clubbing-style black eyeliner. She had porcelain skin and full, rosy lips. Her long nails were bright yellow in contrast with her all-black attire; she was clad in a leather black jacket that had studs all along the sides of the zipper and black, skin-tight torn skinny jeans with black stiletto heels on her feet. The first thing that caught his eye, however, was the ring on her finger; it was shaped like a large, uneven asterisk and looked like it was made entirely of silver. She lifted her pale blue eyes to Maya and they widened to an abnormal size, her jaw dropping.

"Wow," she breathed, in awe, "You… You're so…" There was a pause as Maya gazed at her curiously, contemplating what the girl would say next. "You're so _gorgeous_! Can I draw you? Please let me draw you!"

Maya blushed and smiled, gazing up at me. "Should I let her draw me?" she asked me, "If I do, you might get bored, just standing there."

The girl's gaze found me and she grinned. "Oh my, gosh," she said, her eyes tearing up, "I'm so happy! I've found _two_ gorgeous treasures in this cheap little café! Please, please sit down next to this gorgeous girl, you gorgeous man. I will cry if I miss my chance not to draw you two."

I stifled a chuckle before shrugging, taking a seat next to Maya. The girl slid the drawing she had been working on before and pulled out a large drawing book from her bag. She flipped through until she found a blank page. She lifted her gaze to us, cocking her head to one side.

"Excuse me, pretty girl," she said, gesturing to Maya, "Could you take off your coat, please?"

Maya nodded and did as she was told. "My name is Maya, by the way," she said.

"Interesting," the girl said, although she seemed to be ignoring her, "Sit a little closer together. Are you two dating?"

Maya blushed, shaking her head slowly as she scooted a little closer to me, warming my whole body.

"Well you should be," the girl said, matter-of-factly, still studying us, "Hm… I wish we could get a little crazy with this, but that would be illegal."

"Illegal?" I said, slowly, "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Let's not dwell on things that can't happen," she said before gesturing to Maya, "Put your head on his shoulder."

Maya nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. It felt… right. I couldn't help but wish we always sat like this.

"See, you guys are basically a couple," the girl said, shrugging, "All you need to do is touch each other's private parts and make out a little." My gaze fell to Maya, who was automatically blushing at that note, but giggling as well. "Anyways," the girl said, beginning to draw, "You two don't mind if I reference to this drawing to make different drawings of you guys?"

"No," Maya said, "I don't."

"I don't either," I added.

"Great," she said, "They might be a little dirty, though. But anyways, my name is Celeste."

"I'm Nathaniel," I told her.

"Okay, Maya and Nathaniel," Celeste said, happily, "This won't take longer than an hour. Do you mind?"

"No," Maya said, "It's perfect actually."

"Awesome," Celeste said. The strokes of her pencil against the paper were elegant and swift at the same time. I could've watched her draw us all day long and I wouldn't have gotten bored; it was the unique way she did it. I felt like my image was just appearing on the paper.

"You look young," Maya said, breaking the silence, "Do you live around here?"

"Unfortunately," she muttered, "My family moves around a lot, and don't get me wrong, I love the traveling. I just don't like this city in particular. It's too big for my taste."

"Big?" Maya chuckled, "This city is like two miles in diameter. It's really small."

"I guess I just don't like cities in general," Celeste said, "I was raised in a town, not a city. I prefer places where everybody knows everybody and there aren't any unknown stores or anything like that." There was a short pause before she asked, "What are your zodiac signs?"

"Gemini," Maya answered.

"Aquarius," I told her. It was a strange question to ask someone so randomly.

Celeste giggled. "You two are compatible," she said, "You're not related, are you? Actually, even so, I think it'd be hot if you two dated."

"Related?" Maya said before laughing, "No, not at all."

"So, date," she pressed.

"What's your zodiac sign?" Maya said quickly. It made me a little nervous that she was avoiding the topic. Did that mean she didn't like the idea?

"Aries," Celeste answered.

"Oh, that's cool," Maya said, "But as I was trying to say before, do you go to Sweet Amoris High?"

"Starting Monday, yes," she said, "Do you?"

"Yup," Maya said, "It's an okay school, but I only started a month ago."

"Have you counted the mean girls yet?" Celeste asked, "Not that I care. They never bring me down."

"Actually, I counted one," Maya said, eying me, "She has followers, though."

"One?" she said, "Please do tell me more. I'd like to know who I'm dealing with here."

"Well I would," Maya said slowly, "But… she's Nathaniel's sister, so it would be pretty rude to talk about her with him right there."

"Oh, I see," she said, "Maybe some other time. I'm really glad I'll be going to school with you guys. We need to hang out so that I can draw you guys some more. Maybe in some different poses…?"

"As long as everything that needs to be covered is covered on my body, then that sounds fun," she said.

"Aw, you're boring," she said, "I prefer girls and guys with their clothes off, but that's just me."

"Girls and guys?" Maya asked curiously, "Are you bisexual?"

"Actually I'm more pansexual," she said, "But I'm very proud of it. If you don't like it, I guess we don't have to talk once I finish drawing this."

"No, it's okay," Maya said, "I support gays and stuff like that. You don't have to worry about any criticism from me."

"Good," she said, smiling, "Maybe one day you'll let me make out with you then."

Maya giggled, gazing up at me. "You haven't been talking much," she said, nudging me in my side.

I shrugged. "You two look like you're enjoying your conversation," I said, "Don't mind me, I'm fine."


	9. Nine: I love you

Maya and I left after Celeste had finished drawing us. It turned out amazing; it was virtually like looking in a mirror. A black and white one of course, since it was in pencil, but it was still very realistic. We were arriving at Maya's audition. It was an audition for a dancing school, since we were all seniors, she would attend it after high school. Knowing Maya, she had the potential to make it into big time music videos if this worked out. I was sure it would; she had talent.  
"Oh," Maya said, pacing back and forth, "I'm nervous. I don't feel too good."  
"Calm down," I said soothingly, "I'm sure you'll do fine."  
"I hope so," she said, "I feel like I'm going to pass out."  
I took her hands and met her gaze. "You're going to do fine," I reassured, "It's just dancing, right? You know how to do this."  
She took a few deep breaths before nodding. "You're right," she said, "But I still feel really lightheaded." I handed her a water bottle I bought from the vending machine up front. "Thanks," she said, smiling gratefully as she chugged it nearly halfway.  
"I have faith in you," I said softly.  
"Thank you," she murmured, hugging me tightly. She handed me her overcoat.  
"Maya Ward, please approach floor," a voice said over the intercom.  
"Well, that's my cue," she said, beginning to hurry away, "Wish me luck!" I ascended the stairs so that I could watch from above. I leaned against the wooden railing, peering down at the wooden floor. Maya stepped out gracefully on to the floor. She stopped in the center of the floor, her gaze wandering around at the audience surrounding her. She visibly took a deep breath as the music began. I watched in awe as the music seemed to speak to her. The way she moved her body was so graceful and elegant that it was almost inhuman. Listening to the quiet voices around me, I could tell everybody else was just as impressed with her dancing as I was. She was sure to get this. Suddenly, it dawned on me what it meant if she got it; I wouldn't get to see her anymore. I wanted to go to off to college too. If I went to a good university that was far enough away, I would have to live there. With her so busy here, I would only be able to see her on breaks. My heart clenched. I didn't want that. I knew that we would end up drifting apart if that was the case. For some reason, I found myself wishing that she didn't get the audition. I knew it would tear her apart if she didn't, but I was being selfish.  
I hadn't realized her dance was over until I heard the clapping. This was the loudest I heard the audience cheer all night. That scared me. I descended the stairs and found Maya standing at the foot of them. She was gazing up at me, a blank look on her face and her eyes glazed. I hurried the rest of the way and made it just in time to catch her as she fell.  
"Nathaniel?" she said with her eyes closed as I cradled her in my arms, "Why are you holding me?"  
"Because you fell," I said, "Are you okay? What's wrong? What happened?"  
"I can walk," she said, struggling her way out of my arms. She held on to me for a few moments but the second she let go, she fell right back into my arms. I lifted her up again.  
"Maya," I said, worriedly, "What's wrong? Are you thirsty? Are you hungry?"  
"I don't know," she mumbled, "But my head hurts really badly."  
"Shh," I said softly, hurrying out the door, "Everything will be okay."  
I headed straight for her house, running as fast as I could with her in my arms.  
"Nathan," she murmured, her eyes closed with a smile on her face, "I'm in love with you."  
My body froze. "What?" I stammered. I gave her a little shake when she didn't answer. She was still alive, I was sure; I could see her breathing and she continued to smile, so I was sure she was just half asleep. Maybe she was just mumbling things and she didn't really mean it at all. I continued to hurry towards her house. Once I reached it, I knocked on the door. There was no answer. I opened it anyways and wandered around her entire home in a hurry, looking for a bedroom that I could tell was hers. When I found a bedroom with a full-sized bed, purple and black drawn curtains, and makeup on the dresser, I knew I'd found the right room. I set her down on the bed and shook her a bit by the shoulders.  
"Maya," I pressed, "Open your eyes. Say something or do something."  
"I love you," she said softly, "I love you, I love you! I love your smile, I love your eyes, and I love your hair. I love hearing your voice and I love the way you laugh. I love the way you hug me and I love telling you my secrets and I love listening to your secrets. I love the way you dress and I love the way you talk and I love the way you walk. I love the way you hate Castiel but you don't try to start anything with him while I'm around. I love the way you're a little insecure but you're still so confident at the same time. I could love you forever if you'd let me."  
I felt numb. I wanted to tell her that I felt the same way but I was choked up. I thought over what she said over and over again until I felt ready to marry her, even though I knew we were still too young for that. I held my breath as I touched her cheek.  
"Maya?" I murmured. She didn't respond. Maybe it was best that she slept for a while. I closed the door and sat down on the bed beside her, leaning against the headboard.

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I found myself waking up. My head was rested on the pillow and Maya was cuddled close to me. She must've woken up after I'd fallen asleep.  
"Maya?" I murmured, propping myself up on my elbow.  
"I'm sorry," she replied softly. She had a little smile on her face but her gaze was glued to her feet. "Everything that happened today – it was my fault. This morning, I had a headache and I was in a bad mood. So I took a few pills too many at Orihime's house and I've felt shaky all day. I just didn't think it was a problem until we got to the audition."  
She hadn't mentioned her confession. Maybe she didn't really mean it.  
"So, sorry for being a bother to you," she said.  
"A bother?" I said, "Maya… you always say that. You're never a bother to me." I took her wrists and pinned them down to either side of her head. She gazed up at me curiously. "I love you, Maya," I murmured, my heart feeling like it was going to explode from my chest, "I love you so much." Before she could respond, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. Her lips were soft and warm against mine. I squeezed my eyes shut, pouring every ounce of passion in my body into this kiss. My heart fluttered when she returned the kiss generously. The kiss wasn't nearly as long as I'd hoped it could be but when our lips parted, she had a smile on her face as she met my gaze. I freed her hands and she lifted them, touching my face.  
"So," she said softly, "I guess I wasn't dreaming when I confessed to you, huh? Well… I'd always hoped you'd be the first to confess. But it doesn't really matter now, does it?"  
"I want you to be my girlfriend," I said softly, pulling her body against mine and snaking my arms around her waist firmly as I tucked my head over her shoulder, "I want to be your boyfriend." She was silent. Was she hesitating? "I promise I will never intentionally hurt you," I said slowly, adding force to my words so she knew they were true, "I promise I will never neglect you or cheat on you or do anything a bad boyfriend would do. I promise I will never let you fall for any other guy while you're mine. I promise I will [i]make[/i] this last."  
I stopped when I heard her giggle. "Nathan," she said, softly, her hands traveling up my back to my shoulders, "You don't have to promise, I already trust you with my heart. It's just that I've never been in love before and I don't want to do something wrong."  
"I've never been in love before either," I said, "Don't worry about doing something wrong, okay? We can lead each other through this."  
"Thank you," she said softly in my ear. I couldn't help but notice how sweet she smelled. I held her for a few more moments before sitting up. "It's getting a little late," she said, tucking her hands behind her head.  
"You're right," I said, "Maybe I should get going now."  
"No, wait," she said, sitting up and pulling me into another embrace, "Stay with me. Remember the promise you made? Fulfill it tonight."  
I recalled the promise of sleeping over her house for a night, but it made me feel a little uneasy. I didn't want things to go too far for only the first day of dating.  
"But my things are at home," I reminded her.  
"I had an older brother," she said, "You can wear his clothes."  
"Had?" I said, curiously, "What happened?"  
"Well he moved out when he turned eighteen," she answered, shrugging, "He was like seven years older than me so I didn't know him all that well. All I remember about him was his name was Alex, he played guitar, and he was always locked up in his room. But anyways, you can wear some of his left over clothes."  
"Oh okay," I said, "But what about a tooth brush?"  
"Easy," she said, "We have plenty of spares I could loan you. And if you want to bathe, you can just do that at your house in the morning."  
"You have this all planned out," I chuckled.  
"Wait here," she said, "I'll be right back with your clothes and a tooth brush. I'm going to change in Alex's old room while I'm getting you clothes, too."  
I nodded. She rummaged through her closet until she found some pajamas to wear before hurrying out the room, closing the door behind her. It only took her minutes until she returned with sweatpants and a t-shirt. She was changed into floral shorts and a tank top. She handed the sweatpants and shirt to me and I gazed up at her expectantly.  
"What?" she said.  
"I want to change," I said.  
"Oh, right," she said. She got down on her knees beside me on the ground and buried her face into her blanket. I chuckled, but stood and changed quickly so that she didn't see anything. I surprised her by lifting her up by the waist and tossing her gently on the bed. She giggled as I let myself fall on top of her, kissing her tenderly.  
"I forgot to tell you," I said, "Your audition was amazing. The people around me were really impressed, too."  
She gasped, grinning. "Really? Oh, I'm so excited!"  
"Yeah," I said, my gaze dropping, "Me too." I rolled over on to my back, tucking my hands behind my head. Sitting up, I could see the worried look on her face.  
"What's wrong?" she asked softly, playing with the color of her brother's shirt that I wore.  
"Nothing," I said quickly, "It's nothing." I didn't want to ruin her dreams with my selfishness.  
"No, something's wrong," she said, her brow furrowing worriedly, "Tell me what's wrong."  
"I told you, it's nothing," I said.  
"No it's not," she said, "If it's upsetting you, it's upsetting me. Just tell me. I thought I'm your girlfriend now."  
I sighed. She clearly wasn't going to cut me loose now. "It's about your audition," I said slowly, carefully choosing my words, "If you get the audition, which you probably will, you're going to be busy, right? Then I'm going to want to go to college too and we're both going to be busy. At that rate, the only time I'll be able to see you is over breaks."  
She looked thoughtful for a few moments. "I already knew that," she said, "I took the audition so that I would know whether I could make it or not. I'm not going to take it if I do. I'm going to audition again in a few years so that it could be more convenient for us both."  
"What? No, don't do that," I said, "What if you don't make it a second time?"  
She shrugged. "I like dancing," she said, "But it's not my favorite thing in the world."  
"Then what is?"  
She smiled, leaning towards me and grasping my shirt in both hands. "You are, silly," she said, planting a kiss on my lips.[/


	10. Ten: The First Payback

The weekend had ended. The sun shone through the drawn curtains. It was time for school now. Maya couldn't hide her smile as her alarm went off. She turned it off and climbed out of bed feverishly. She changed into jeans and a sweater, slipping a pair of sneakers on her feet before washing up and brushing her hair. She descended the stairs slowly, keeping a careful eye out for her parents. When she didn't see anybody, she began to run as quickly as she could towards the door but the second she reached the foot of the stairs, someone had taken her by the hair. She jerked backwards, startled.

"Where do you think you're going at this hour?" he growled.

"School," she said.

"Not today," he spat, "Get back to your room. I don't want to see your ugly face."

"You don't have to," she muttered, "I'm just going to walk towards the door. And then leave."

He tugged at her hair before turning her and slapping her. "What did I tell you about getting smart with me?"

"I apologize," she said, insincerely.

"Go to your room," he said, angrily pushing her away. She nodded, taking a few slow steps before dashing to the back door. She was out the door before he could catch up. She only stopped running once she reached the school. She put her hands on her knees, panting.

"What happened to you?"

Feeling alert, Maya was startled by Castiel's voice; so startled she jumped back and nearly hissed at him.

"Oh," she panted, "You scared me."

"I can tell," he chuckled, before studying her face. "Uh," he said, "What's that mark on your face?"

She touched the hot part of her face where her father had slapped her. It showed?

"Was it a fight?" he said, smirking, "Were you running from a fight?"

"You could say that," she sighed.

"You know, I'm a little disappointed in you," he said, still smirking, "I always pictured you as the kind of girl who would fight back, not runaway."

"I'm sorry," she said, sarcastically, "I just have a little trouble when it comes to fighting a forty-year-old man."

"A forty-year-old man?" he repeated, his smirk disappearing, "What the hell? What happened?"

"It's my dad," she said, "He's always telling me he doesn't want to see my _ugly_ face, but no matter how much I try to avoid him, he's always looking for attempts to hit me for no reason."

"Abusive dad?" he said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but if things ever get too bad at your place, you could come stay with me."

She smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "Aw," she said, "See, Castiel? Being sweet isn't so hard!"

He blushed, looking away. "Shut it," he muttered.

She giggled. "But thanks," she said, "So when will I be able to meet your band?"

He sighed. "You're never going to let go of that, are you?" he muttered.

"Nope," she said, "Not until I meet them."

"Okay, fine," he said, "You can meet the band after school tonight. Don't bring anybody and don't tell anybody."

Maya nodded, intrigued. "Why?" she said, "Is it like… your girlfriend? Oh better yet, your _boyfriend_?"

He glared at her. "That's not funny," he muttered.

She giggled. "I thought it was pretty funny," she said, grinning.

"What's this talk of bands and boys with boyfriends?"

Maya recognized the voice almost instantaneously.

"Celeste?" she said, getting to her toes and peering over Castiel's shoulder.

"Oh, my," Celeste said, her hands behind her back as her gaze ran up and down Castiel's body as she skirted around him, "I like your hair."

Celeste had her cherry-crimson hair in a ponytail that still easily reached the small of her back. Her bangs were clean cut and swept across her forehead. Her eyes looked extra light blue in the sunlight. She was clad in a cropped black leather jacket and a band t-shirt, with little black jean shorts and fishnet stockings. She had another pair of black stilettos on her feet, making her taller than Maya by inches, but still shorter than Castiel.

"Hey," Maya said, grinning, "This is Castiel. Castiel, this is Celeste. She's new here."

Castiel didn't give much of a greeting but she managed to catch his gaze sweep Celeste over.

"Can I draw you sometime?" Celeste said to Castiel, "You could come over my house. Clothes aren't necessary, if you don't like to wear them. There's a tree outside my window, so the leaves are available for coverage."

Castiel wasn't amused. "Well, I can see why you get along with Maya," he said, "You're both freaks."

"Freak?" Celeste's expression suddenly turned so emotionless it was almost seductive, "You could call me that, if you want. I like being freaky. I thought guys liked that."

It took her a minute to realize the perverted notions in what Celeste had said, but when she did, Maya couldn't help but giggle. Castiel smirked, looking away.

"Do you still want to know about Amber?" Maya asked, "Nathaniel's not around, so I think it'd be okay if I told you."

"Oh, his sister?" she said, "Sure."

"If you spend too much time with her brother, she'll get really mad," Maya said, "That's why she hates me. She tricked me into dancing on a wooden floor while it was freshly waxed and I ended up spraining my ankle. She didn't even apologize."

"She seems like a jealous witch," Celeste said, "Just push her down. If she breaks a nail, she'll start crying."

Maya smiled. "That's the thing, though," she said, "I really would love to just hit her, but she's Nathaniel's sister. He'll get mad at me if I do."

"Speaking of the blonde guy," Celeste said, "Are you two dating yet?"

Maya blushed, looking away.

Celeste grinned. "You are!" she said, "I knew it would happen."

"You're dating mister president?" Castiel muttered, "Wow, I didn't know he was your type."

Still blushing, Maya avoided his gaze. "Well, you know," she said, "The more unlike you are compared to another person, the more likely you are to get closer to them."

"That's not true," he muttered, "He and I are nothing alike and I hate him."

"You hate him?" Celeste said, "I haven't talked to him much, but he's so adorable! How can you hate that face?"

"Because I'm not gay," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, that's boring," Celeste said.

"Your t-shirt," Castiel said, smirking, "You actually like that band?"

"I do," Celeste said, smiling, "I just hate mainstream music."

"See, Castiel," Maya said, grinning, "More girls like that kind of music than you thought."

"I like that," he said, "Maya, bring her with you tonight."

"Okay," she said, "But Orihime might feel left out."

He sighed. "So don't tell her," he said, "Don't tell anybody."

"Okay, I guess," she said.

"Wait, where are we going?" Celeste said.

"Castiel has a band that he wants to keep a secret," Maya said before shrugging.

"A band?" Celeste said before grinning, "I love bands! I hope there are gorgeous people there!" She bounced up and down, her hands balled into fists as if she would explode from excitement.

"Chill," Castiel said.

"How am I supposed to chill when there might be people just waiting to be drawn at this school?" Celeste said, feverishly.

"Hi Maya!" Ken's voice said from behind Maya. She sighed, rolling her eyes before turning. "I just wanted to say good luck with Amber before I leave, I heard she was giving you trouble."

"Before you leave?" she repeated.

"I'm going to military school," he said, blushing, "My father says I need to 'man up'."

"Oh, well that's kind of harsh," she said, "Good luck with that."

"Thanks!" he said, happily, as if just her being kind to him made him so happy, "Well, bye, Maya."

"Later," she said, waving before turning back to Castiel and Celeste. Celeste had a questioning look on her face, and Maya simply shrugged. The bell rung and on cue, everybody began heading inside. As she drew near the entrance, Maya's gaze spotted Nathaniel, leaning against the door frame. She skipped ahead, grinning as she approached him before pulling him into a comforting embrace, tucking her head under his chin. "Good morning," she said happily, gazing up at him, "Did you sleep well?"

"No," he admitted sheepishly, "I just kept thinking."

"Thinking about what?" she asked.

"Well, what do you think?" he said with a flirty tone of voice as he touched her cheek, "You, of course."

She giggled before getting to her toes and kissing him tenderly. She ignored the whispering of the students around her as she took his hands in hers.

"You're so cute," he said softly.

She felt herself blushing. "Not as cute as you," she teased, poking his stomach.

He smiled, his gaze lifting above her head. He rolled his eyes before sighing, putting his hand to his forehead.

"Oh, okay, gosh," she said, "You're not cute then."

"No," he chuckled, shaking his head, "It's not you. Look." He gestured behind her. Maya turned to see Celeste standing near the front door, facing Amber, with her arms crossed over her chest. Castiel stood a little bit away from her, smirking.

Maya sighed, taking one of Nathaniel's hands and weaving through the crowds towards them. As she drew closer, she found herself within earshot.

"So you think you're better than me?" Amber was spitting, clearly she was angry, "Is that why you're acting like that?"

"But I just got here," Celeste said with an accent, a dumb-founded look on her face, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me!" Amber exclaimed, "I know exactly what you're doing!"

"What am I doing?" she said, tears welling in her eyes, her accent still heavy over her words, "Did I anger you somehow? Could I please make it up to you?"

"No!" Amber said, "Get lost, dog! That's how you can make it up to me, by moving back to where you came from."

Celeste put her hands on either side of her face, mumbling something in a different language before saying, "I'm sorry! You Americans are crazy! I didn't do anything!"

Frustrated, Amber's face was bright red as she mumbled something before stomping off. Her gaze found Maya, standing hand-in-hand with Nathaniel and she clenched her jaw.

"No," she hissed, "You two are _not_ dating."

Maya gazed up at Nathaniel as he lifted her hand entwined with his, a smile on his face. "We are," he said, sheepishly, "Sorry, I guess."


	11. Eleven: Princess Castiel

Without another word, Amber stalked off angrily, her followers clinging to her. Maya giggled as she squeezed Nathaniel's hand, skipping towards Celeste and Castiel.

"That was hilarious," she said, giggling, "Amber deserves it if she's having a bad day today. I hope she yells at a teacher or picks a fight and gets detention, or better yet, suspension."

"She's crazy," Celeste said, rolling her eyes, "Only an insane person would get so mad over that. It's weird, how different she and gorgeous blonde guy are."

When Maya smiled up at Nathaniel, it was only then did she realize the tension that lingered in the air around them. He had a hateful glare on his face, his gaze glued to Castiel, who was returning the favor. Maya tugged at Nathaniel's arm.

"Nathan," she said, "Stop it, both of you. Can't we all be calm for like five seconds?"

"Hey guys," Orihime's voice sounded as she seemed to appear between Maya and Castiel, "I saw Amber just now, she was really mad."

"I know," Maya said, "Celeste made her mad, it was pretty funny."

"Who's Celeste?" Orihime asked.

Maya gestured to her on the other side of Castiel, "Her."

Orihime studied her for a moment.

"Hey," Celeste said, waving, "Can I draw you naked?"

"No," Orihime said innocently, shaking her head.

"Aw, but you're cute," Celeste insisted, "Let me draw you naked. If I touch you, you can slap me. Deal?"

Orihime gazed at the floor. "No, thank you," she said, quietly.

Celeste giggled. "Oh, whatever," she said, waving it off, "I'll draw Maya naked one day. That's my new dream."

Nathaniel tucked Maya under his arm protectively. "You have to ask me permission first," he said, and Maya giggled.

"Don't I have a say in this?" she said, giggling.

"Permission?" Celeste said, ignoring her, "What if I draw you naked too? Won't that make it even?"

"Not exactly," he said.

"Uh, guys," Maya said.

"But I don't like permission," Celeste said, "What if I just tie you both down and draw you naked?"

"I don't think so," Nathaniel said.

The bell rang before Celeste could reply.

"Blonde guy," Celeste said, "We'll get back to this later."

Maya giggled, slipping out of Nathaniel's grasp. "Come on, Orihime," she said, "We have a class to get to."

It was after school. Maya managed to convince Orihime that she would be in detention, although Orihime was skeptical because Nathaniel was the 'principle's pet'. She told Nathaniel the truth, and he somehow already knew about the band that Castiel had. Then again, in a way she wasn't surprised; they somehow knew little details about each other that took her a while to find out. It made her curious about their past but she didn't want to pry. She and Celeste followed Castiel through the school until he found a door. He went through it, leading them down into the basement. There stood another guy with bleached hair, different colored eyes and a unique attire.

"Ladies, this is Lysander," Castiel said, "Lysander, these are our new groupies, Maya and Celeste."

"You're so cute, can I draw you?" Celeste said to Lysander.

Maya waved her off. "Don't worry about her, she says that to everybody," she said, smiling before glaring at Castiel, "And I'm not your _groupie_, I just want to see how well you guys play."

"Wait," Celeste said, "Is this it? Is this your whole band?"

Castiel nodded, smirking. He picked up a guitar case and opened it, pulling out a guitar. He pulled the strap over his neck, glancing over at Lysander, who nodded once before approaching a keyboard set that was already prepared for playing. He began to play a nice tune before Castiel's guitar jumped in, creating a hard core rock song as the sounds of two instruments blended together. They played for a while before Maya recognized the song. She began to sing along with Celeste, although they couldn't hear each other. The two boys stopped playing halfway through the song, and Celeste stopped singing, leaving Maya, who's voice echoed through the basement. She bit her lip, giggling.

"Sorry," she said, "I just love that song."

"You guys are good for a two man band," Celeste said, "Maybe one day I could bring my guitar here and play with you guys."

"You play?" Castiel said, leaning his guitar against the wall.

"Yeah," she said, "I usually play to calm myself down, or when I'm looking for inspiration to draw."

"That's different," Lysander said, joining the conversation, "Usually I have to look for inspiration to play."

"Well I'm more of an artist than a musician," she said, shrugging.

"That's interesting," Lysander said, "Would you mind if I could see some of your works?"

"Sure," she said, grinning as she took her bag off of her shoulder and set it down before unzipping it and pulling out her drawing book. She handed it to him and he flipped through it.

"Wow," he said, "You're an amazing artist."

"Thanks," she said, "I've always had a passion for drawing, ever since I was a toddler. My parents always said I was gifted."

Maya turned to Castiel, smiling as he downed a bottle of water. "Is this why you didn't want me seeing the basement before?" she asked.

"Well yeah," he said, "Nobody is supposed to know about this."

"How come Nathaniel knows?" she asked.

"Well, he just sort of… found out," Castiel said, "But if the principle finds out, he'll get in trouble too so we just decided to keep it a secret."

"Sounds complicated," Maya said.

"Not really," Castiel shrugged.

"It looks like Celeste and Lysander are getting along," Maya said, gazing at the two as they went through her drawing book, talking and laughing.

"Yeah," he said, "It's a little weird."

"Weird?" Maya said, "Why?

"I don't know," he said, "I don't know how well they'll get along but it's weird to think of Lysander getting close to someone like her."

Maya chuckled. "Oh, you're such a great friend," she said, sarcastically.

"No," he said, grimacing, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, I know what you meant," she said, "And I can see it too."

Before he could respond, Maya's gaze found Orihime, peaking in shyly from behind the doorframe.

"Orihime?" Maya said.

She stepped out, gazing at her feet. "I'm sorry," she said, "I was curious." She drew closer, setting her bag on the floor and kneeling next to it and rummaging through it. She grasped something and pulled it out. The second she did, all eyes were on her. It was a six pack of alcoholic beverages.

Castiel grinned. "I should've invited you in the beginning," he said, reaching out and helping her to her feet. She handed him the six pack and he broke one off of the plastic.

"It's a good kind," she said, shyly, "I have more, too."

He passed the pack to Maya and she gazed up at him. "I don't drink," she said.

Celeste approached her, glancing back at Lysander, who nodded, before she broke off two cans. "Don't be a stick in the mud, Maya," she said, grinning, "Live a little."

"But," Maya protested, "What about Nathaniel? He wouldn't be too happy about this and he trusts me."

"Forget about him," Castiel said, shrugging as he opened his can, "He's not going to find out, right?"

Maya sighed as Orihime took the pack from her and broke off two cans, setting the last one on her bag. She extended her arm out towards Maya, a can in her hand.

"Oh, alright," Maya said, taking the can, "Just don't tell Nathaniel, okay? He doesn't need to find out."

"Yeah," Castiel said, "Because I talk to him so much, right?"

Giggling, she opened the can. A strong, sickening scent wafted up to her. It wouldn't kill her to try it, just this once, right? She sipped it and cringed at the foul taste.

"This stuff is gross," she said, gazing around at her friends, who were downing their cans with ease, "How are you drinking this?"

"It's not the best thing ever," Celeste said, "But if you keep drinking, you'll start to feel better about it." Maya swallowed hard before forcing herself to take a few gulps, already beginning to feel lightheaded. Gazing around her, everyone else looked fine.

"Hey," she said, "Is this stuff making anybody else feel a little dizzy?"

Castiel chuckled beside her. "She's a light weight," he said, patting her head, "Keep drinking, you'll feel better."

Maya shrugged and drank a little more. Once the can was empty, she crushed it and let it fall to the floor. The noise it made seemed to echo.

"You better pick that up," Castiel said beside her, "We'll be in big trouble if we're caught drinking in the school."

"You know what, Castiel?" Maya said, getting on her toes and facing him. She poked his chest roughly. "You look like a princess," she exclaimed, "But I'm not your maid, mister princess."

"Princess?" he said, "You know what, just have a few more drinks, Maya."

"Don't tell me what to do!" she said, stomping over to Orihime's bag and snatching up the can. The plastic was still rapped around the head of the can and Maya struggled with it for a few moments. "What the hell kind of black magic is this?" she exclaimed, thrusting it towards Castiel, "Here, princess, undo this spell for me so I can have some more magic blood stuff."

"Yeah," he said, chuckling as he easily pulled off the plastic after tucking his can in his arm.

"Hell yeah!" Maya said grinning as she opened her can.


	12. Twelve: All of My Regrets

It was near midnight. Maya had only three cans but was already drunk enough to be unable to walk straight. She wasn't sure how many the others had, but they were just as drunk as she was by now.

"You know, Castiel," Maya said, stumbling over her words, "I always liked your hair. Can I touch it?"

"Speaking of touching," Celeste said, taking Maya by the wrist and pulling her close, "Let me touch you." She forcibly pressed their lips together. Maya struggled away from her grasp.

"You know," Maya said, "I'm really tired. I'm going home. Someone tell Nathaniel that he's the coolest if he shows up, 'kay? Oh and tell him that I… I still have my foot on. I think he was worried about that earlier."

"No, that was me," Orihime said, nonchalantly approaching Castiel and tucking herself under his arm, "Castiel, can I kiss you?"

Just as he nodded and began leaning in, Maya lost interest and left. She stumbled all the way home in the dark. She snuck in, thankfully unseen by her parents before passing out on her bed.

The next morning, Maya awoke with a throbbing headache. She forced herself to bathe and brushed her teeth as well as she could to get the alcoholic scent off of herself. She robed herself in a random t-shirt and skinny jeans with sneakers. After combing her hair, she descended the stairs. As she walked out the door, she realized she didn't have her bag; she must've left it at school.

As Maya arrived at school, Maya realized Castiel, Celeste and Orihime, who could usually be found outside, were nowhere in sight; they must've had more than they could handle. With the lingering migraine that was discretely spreading over her brain, she couldn't disagree with them for skipping out on school. She ascended the front stairs and pushed open the doors, approaching the student council room. She wanted to say hello to Nathaniel before going to see if her bag was in the basement. She peaked in through the window of the door. Nathaniel stood in there alone, shuffling through papers. He had a tired, blank expression on his face. She lightly knocked before cracking the door open.

"Hey, Nathan," she said, happily, "You busy?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation.

"Oh," she said, her smile fading as she stepped inside anyways, "Can I help?"

"No," he said.

"Oh okay, sorry," she said, "I just came to say hi, but I forgot my bag in the basement last night."

"Yes," he said, bending forward and pulling her bag out from under the desk, "I found it this morning." He set it on the desk and she heard a rattling sound. She opened it and found empty cans filling it. She bit her lip, gazing up at Nathaniel. He had returned to his paper shuffling.

She chuckled. "You looked through my bag?" she said, "What if I had something personal in there?"

"I didn't look through it," he sighed, "It was wide open when I found it."

"Look, Nathan," she said, "It's not like I did anything to hurt our relationship. We can just forget about this and move on, right?"

"Forget?" he said, setting the paper down, "You were drinking with those people; how can I be sure you didn't do anything with them? And on top of that, nobody gave you and them permission to drink in the school. You were not only doing something incredibly illegal, but you did it in the school. The basement reeks of alcohol now."

"Those people?" she said, narrowing her eyes, "You're talking about them like you're so much better than them or something. They're my _friends_. And just open a window or turn a fan on or something; the smell of the basement isn't something to cry about. It didn't smell too nice before anyways.

"Maya," he sighed, burying his hands in his face for a few moments before turning to face her, "You're not getting it. I don't care about that stuff honestly; the thing I'm mainly worried about is that you could've cheated on me. That Castiel has had his eyes on you since you met him."

"No, you're just paranoid," she said, "Castiel and I are friends. And I didn't cheat on you; I know I didn't."

"How much of last night do you actually remember?" he said, "Do you remember how you got home? Do you remember what you said? Do you remember what everybody else said to you?"

"I wouldn't have remembered every detail even if I was sober," she said, "But I'm sure I didn't cheat on you, okay? Why don't you chill out for a minute?"

"Chill out?" he said, "If it were me, getting drunk and partying with some girls, I'm sure you wouldn't be too happy."

"Yeah," she said, "But only because I didn't get to join! I trust you, Nathan. It wouldn't kill you to trust me too. And anyways, the thing I remember mainly about last night was that Lysander was all over Celeste and Castiel was all over Orihime."

"That doesn't prove anything," he said, "And I do trust you, I just don't trust the drink and the people you were with. Honestly, I never expected you to be one to drink."

"I don't," she said, "It was my first time."

"Exactly," he said, "They're a bad influence on you."

"They were encouraging me to loosen up," she said, "Something you should try sometime in your life."

"I knew it wasn't a good idea to let you go to one of Castiel's practices," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Let me?" she said, grimacing, "You're not my father, Nathaniel. Please stop acting like it. Like I said, I was just trying to have some fun."

"I'm not trying to be like your father," he said, "I'm trying to be a good boyfriend, but you're making it difficult."

Maya took a step back, inhaling and exhaling slowly to hold her temper. "You're making this difficult, Nathaniel," she said, "You're making this _relationship _difficult. Come and let me know when you're going to stop picking fights, okay?" She spun around without another word, dumping the empty cans in the garbage can on her way out. She knew Nathaniel would get rid of it; although they were both walking on glass in their relationship, he wouldn't want to get her in so much trouble. She slammed the door behind her and spun around, nearly running into Celeste.

"Oh you don't look happy," Celeste said. Maya couldn't help but notice the light, darker circles under her blue eyes. Her hair was down today, falling in elegant curls down to her petite waist, nearly to her hips.

"I'm not happy," Maya muttered, crossing her arms and taking a few steps away from the student council room, "Nathaniel's acting like a character from a soap opera. He found out about last night and he thinks I cheated on him."

"How did he find out?" she asked.

"I forgot my bag last night," Maya answered, "He found it and it was filled with a bunch of empty beer cans."

"Oh that sucks," she said, "He's probably just insecure; thinking you cheated on him."

"I know he is," Maya said, rolling her eyes, "We just had like the worst argument we've ever had."

"Did you guys break up?" she asked.

"I'm… not exactly sure."

"Oh," Celeste said, "Well that's why I fly single."

"Do you remember last night at all?" Maya asked, chuckling. When Celeste shook her head, Maya continued, "You were making out with Lysander the whole time. It was really heavy; I wouldn't be surprised if you two did something after I left."

"Well, you see," she said, scratching her head, "I woke up at home. I think I tried to change but I was so tired that I forgot to put clothes on. And the thing is that he was in my bed."

Maya couldn't help but laugh. "You think you slept with him?"

"I don't think so," she said, "I think we just slept next to each other but I don't think we did anything else."

"Well, that's a plus I think," Maya said.

"Maybe," she said, "But you couldn't imagine how awkward it was when we were both awake. He kept apologizing to me. I gave him some of my pain reliever pills and he went home."

Maya laughed. "Oh, gosh," she said, "Now I'm not sure who has it worse right now, me or you."

"Well actually," she said, clearing her throat, "Orihime got in a car accident last night."

Immediately, Maya's smile was gone. "What?" she breathed.

"Yeah," Celeste said, "She was apparently trying to drive one of her parents' old cars around and she got in this huge accident. She was hurt, but she's alive. She's at the hospital right now."

"Oh my, gosh," Maya gasped, "That's terrible! We should visit her today."

"Alright," Celeste said, "But we don't need to be in a hurry since Castiel has been with her all night. He's skipping right now, just to be with her."

"I didn't know he liked her that much," Maya said.

"Well actually," she said, "He thinks it's his fault, that's why he's there. I don't remember him saying much on the phone except 'it's all my fault'."

"That's sweet of him to stay with her," she said, just before the ringing of the bell. "Well I need to go," she said, "I have class."

"I'm going to talk to blonde guy about the accident," she said, "So that he doesn't try to get them in trouble."

"Good luck," Maya said, "He's in a bad mood, so he's probably going to find a way for it to be your fault. See you later."

"Later," Celeste said, waving as she entered the student council room.

The day seemed to go by as slow as possible. Maya had gotten yelled at by three different teachers for zoning out; they didn't know the half of it. Her migraine seemed to drag along through the day. When the bell finally rang, Maya was rushing to leave the building. She glanced at the student council room as she passed. Through the window, she could see Nathaniel talking to those two girls again. She clenched her hands into fists, just as she ran into someone.

"Watch where you're going, bimbo."

Oh, gosh. This was the last person Maya wanted to run into.

"You know, Amber, you do have eyes," she said, "If you saw me coming, you could've gotten out of the way."

"Me get out of my way for you?" she said before laughing, "You must be joking. Why would I do such a thing for someone as _ugly_ as you?"

Ugly? The only other person who's called her ugly in her recent memory was her father. Maya chuckled. A crowd was beginning to gather.

"You know what, Amber?" she said, "You're pretty, but if you don't shut that big mouth of yours, that's definitely going to change."

A buzzing 'ooh' swept through the audience of students.

"You?" Amber chuckled, "Please, I'm not amused. As if someone like you could beat me."

"Someone like me?" Maya said, lifting her gaze, "So are you implying that I'm below you?"

"Of course I am," she said, "Anybody would agree."

Grinning, Maya approached her slowly. "Well, isn't that swell!"

She swung her fist, striking Amber right in the eye. Amber squealed, the force nearly knocking her down as her groupies did their best to steady her without breaking a nail.

"You little witch!" Amber said, reaching to wrap her hands around Maya's throat. Before Amber could react, Maya kneed her in the gut grasping her hair in both hands as Amber dropped to her knees.

"I'm so far below you, aren't I?" Maya said, "Because I'm the one kneeling down in front of you, right?"

She laughed, jerking her back by her hair. Two slender hands took hold of Maya's arms from behind, pulling her off of Amber. Maya spun around and found herself gazing at Celeste.

"Maya, _stop_," she said, still holding Maya firmly, "I know you've been having a bad day today, but you don't need to take it out on her, no matter how much of a witch she is."

Maya clenched and unclenched her hands, taking deep breaths. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find herself gazing at a yellow slip that read 'Detention' at the top. Her gaze followed up his thumb, past his arm, shoulder and neck, until she was gazing into his blank golden-brown orbs.

"Detention?" she said, "But you can't assign detentions."

He gestured to a teacher across the hallway who was peeking out of her class.

"Uh, Maya," Celeste said once she returned her gaze to her. Celeste gestured to the back of the slip and Maya turned it over.

"It's over," it read in all capital letters


	13. Thirteen: Doctor Celeste

The hospital was quiet. Maya followed Celeste close behind as she weaved through the bright white halls, a paper with the room number written on it in her hand. She finally stopped at the right room, glancing back at Maya. Swallowing, Maya followed her inside. On the other side of the room, the curtain was closed but Orihime was easy to spot with Castiel standing beside her, his bright red hair sticking out against the whiteness of the room. They approached slowly, but Orihime looked stable and okay. She was hugging close to a teddy bear and she and Castiel didn't even notice Maya and Celeste approaching until Celeste cleared her throat.

"Here," Celeste said, setting the colorful bouquet of roses on the table beside Orihime.

"Thank you guys," Orihime said softly.

Gazing around, Maya asked curiously, "Are your parents around? Shouldn't they be here for you?"

"Oh," Orihime stammered, "No, they're busy."

"Too busy to support their daughter while she's in the hospital?" Celeste said, curiously, "I know if it were me in that bed, my parents wouldn't let me lift a finger."

"Just shut up, both of you," Castiel said sharply, "You don't know anything."

Orihime touched his hand on the edge of her bed softly and he instantly calmed down. Maya and Celeste exchanged a puzzled glance. What in the world happened over night?

"Maya," Orihime said, "Did I miss a lot in school?"

"No idea," Maya said, "After I found out what happened to you, I couldn't concentrate."

"But you know what'll really make you feel better?" Celeste said, grinning, "Amber got beat up today!"

"By who?" she asked.

"By me," Maya said, feeling a little bit proud that she'd given Amber what she deserved.

"You?" Orihime said, "What about Nathaniel?"

Maya pulled the yellow detention slip out of her back pocket, unfolding it and showing her the back side of it.

"He's such a jerk," Celeste said, rolling her eyes, "Amber had it coming."

"I was right all along," Castiel said, smirking.

"Amber did have it coming," Maya said, "And he should definitely stop siding with her all the time."

"There's something I don't get though," Celeste said, "I thought you really love him. Why does it seem like you're not upset at all?"

"I just don't believe in crying over boys," she said with a nonchalant wave of her hand, "If he thinks I'm not worth his time then he's not worth my tears. I'm not going to let one stupid boy mess up my already screwed up life."

"If you want," Celeste said, "We could have a sleep over, and you don't have to be afraid to let it all out then."

"Only if you promise not to start coming on to me," Maya said.

Celeste rolled her eyes. "That's boring," she said, "You're boring."

Maya giggled before reaching forward and poking Orihime's side. "So what happened exactly?"

Orihime cleared her throat. "I don't remember," she said softly.

"You're looking healthy," Celeste said, "I hope it won't be long before you're out."

"I hope so too," Orihime said, "The only good thing about being here is that Castiel has been with me the whole time."

"So I see you two have been bonding," Maya said, smiling as her brow went up.

Celeste elbowed Castiel playfully. "When are you going to pop the question?"

"Soon," he answered, gazing at his hands on the edge of her bed, "Very soon."

Maya sat on the edge of Celeste's queen-sized bed in her enormous bedroom as she French braided her princess-like long hair. It was still only seven, so they had a few hours before they should go to bed.

"So," Celeste said, "If you feel upset about anything at all, don't be afraid to let it all out to me."

"Thanks," Maya said, "But I'm okay, really."

"Maya," Celeste said, "You know, I usually can't tolerate when I see people upset. It always just makes me wish that everybody understood that it's better to be happy, even when you're sad." She turned her head, her soft blue gaze so gentle as they touched her, she felt as if Celeste could see right into her soul. "But when I look at you," she said gently, "I see a strong, independent woman. You make it seem like nothing bothers you; like you're always happy. But I know that you have something you're hiding; something that really hurts you. I just want you to know that you can talk to me. You can tell me anything while we're alone, just as long as you don't change your strong and independent attitude in public. Just talk to me, Maya. I'm all ears for you."

Maya stayed silent as she finished up her braid. She sighed, laying on her back and gazing up at the ceiling.

"You know, Celeste," Maya said, "You're a really good friend. Why couldn't you have come along in my life when I was like seven?"

Celeste had turned, her arms folded underneath her chin as she smiled patiently at Maya.

"Growing up, I was bullied," she said, "I transferred schools on my own in my old city after I hit high school because I just hated being picked on. I always fought back but I had such a low self-esteem that it didn't even matter anymore. My family moved to Sweet Amoris and I finally felt happy. My dad abuses me and my mom neglects me. My dad calls me ugly whenever I see him, which is why I blew up on Amber after that. Up until I moved here, I really believed that; that I was ugly." She closed her eyes, a smile spreading across her face. "Then I met Nathaniel," she said, "After I met him, I started feeling better about myself. It felt good; falling in love. You know, I fall in love with him all over again every time I see him. He was the best thing that ever happened to me. But all good things have to come to an end, right? Our little relationship only lasted a few days but they were the best few days of my life. After meeting Nathaniel, I roughed it out at home. I avoided my dad and I actually started talking back to him. And I met great people here, like you, Orihime, Castiel, Iris… But in the end, my mind always went back to Nathaniel."

"You're a sweet girl," Celeste said, "You didn't deserve any of that."

"I guess," Maya said, "But now that my relationship with Nathaniel is over… going to school tomorrow doesn't sound like so much fun. Maybe I was wrong with what I said to him, but now it's too late; he'll never take me back after what I did to Amber."

"He could," she said, "How will you know if you don't try?"

"I don't even know what I'd say to him," she said, "I beat up on his sister. I gave her a black eye and ripped like half her hair out. He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," she said, "If he really loved you, it wouldn't only take that for him to hate you. Just try apologizing to him tomorrow, but only if you really want him back."

"I really do," Maya said softly.

After a short pause, Celeste said, "Maya, do you remember when we made out last night?"

Maya giggled. "Don't remind me," she said, "I didn't want to do it, you forced me to."

"That's all I can remember from last night," she said, "That, and Lysander's cologne. I tend to remember the things that make me the happiest."

"Aw," she said, "It's cute that you remembered Lysander's cologne then."

"Yeah," she said, "I guess. But what all happened? I really can't remember anything after like my third or fourth drink."

"It's fuzzy on me too," Maya said, "But I remember you were definitely a kisser; you kept on kissing Lysander, who kept going back and forth, talking to me or Castiel or Orihime or you. You were following him around the whole time. Castiel got all lovey-dovey when he was drunk; he kept flirting with the girls and making out with Orihime."

"What were you doing?" she asked.

"I don't remember," Maya said, shrugging.

"Can I draw you?"

Maya giggled. "Well that wasn't random at all," she said sarcastically, "Will it be just a regular drawing or an inappropriate one?"

Celeste shrugged. "Which do you want?" she said, grinning.

"A regular one, please," Maya said.

"You know," Celeste said, getting to her feet and approaching a door that Maya hadn't asked about, "One day I'm going to draw you naked."

"We'll see," Maya said, giggling.

"But today, it's okay to draw you with clothes on," Celeste said, opening the closet to reveal tons of art supplies. She pulled out a painting canvas and a large blank piece of white paper. She pulled out a pouch and closed the closet. "You just look so adorable right now, even with your clothes on," she said, "With that sweater, and those shorts. I mean, what straight guy wouldn't melt just looking at you?"

Maya giggled, sitting up. "Okay," she said, "Position me."

"Actually, the way you were laying before was fine," Celeste said.

Nodding, Maya returned to the position she was in a moment ago. "So what do you think of Orihime and Castiel?" she asked.

"They're either secretly dating," Celeste said, sitting on the floor and leaning the canvas on the bed and her lap, spreading the paper on it, "or they're going to date."

"Whatever they're doing, they're cute together," Maya said.

•••

I was packing my things away in my bag for school, including the drawing of Maya I'd completed yesterday. It turned out beautiful; I'd even colored it for more detail. She and I had stayed up until past midnight, which was definitely not a good thing considering I didn't sleep much the night before that either, so I might start getting bags under my eyes. But today, that wasn't my concern.

I waited by the door for Maya as she tiredly descended the stairs and approached me. Staying up late had clearly impacted her harder than me, but then again I've been awake for a couple of hours now and Maya had only been awake for less than one. I led her to my car and we drove off to school. Normally, I didn't drive places unless they were too far, since I preferred walking but we would be late if I didn't drive us there. I needed some extra time in the morning.

When we arrived, the first person I noticed was Castiel, standing by himself in the courtyard. He had his headphones in and his eyes closed; he looked like he didn't want to be bothered. Maya rushed towards him anyways, clearly just dying to know what really happened between him and Orihime. Using this as an opportunity, I hopped out of my car and locked it before hurrying in the building. I spotted the student council room and went inside without knocking. Nathaniel was talking with a girl who was rather cute and they looked as if they were getting along nicely as well. Smirking, I was glad to ruin it.

"Celeste?" he said to me, "What are you doing here?"

"You're such a jerk," I said, "Do you have any idea what Maya was going through yesterday? And you had the nerve to break up with her after she roughed your precious baby sister up a little. You know, I lost respect for you after that. We all know how annoying she can be."

He sighed, waving me off. "I don't have time for this," he said, "What's done is done."

"What's done is done?" I repeated. Suddenly when he said that, this wasn't a game anymore. "Wow, Nathaniel. There goes any leftover respect I had for you. Do you know how much she cares about you?"

Nathaniel sighed again. "I'm sorry," he said to the girl, "Could you excuse us?"

The girl nodded and was out of the room in the blink of an eye. I hoped that she'd lost all interest she had in Nathaniel before.

"Nathaniel," I said, "Do you want to know what she said to me yesterday? She said the first time she was ever truly happy was when she met you. You have no idea what she goes through every single day of her life, and she basically considered you the light of her life."

"Did she send you?" he said, "This is ridiculous. Our relationship is over."

"No, she didn't send me," I told him, "She was afraid to even apologize to you because she thinks you hate her. I came here of my own accord."

"Hate?" he chuckled, "At this point, that's an understatement."

"Are you not listening to what I'm saying?" I said, "You mean _everything _to her. Don't make me start cursing, Nathaniel, you won't like my ugly side."

"I'm not sure I like either side," he said, rolling his eyes, "You're only making things worse; if she wants to apologize to me, she can do it herself."

I threw my bag on the ground and stomped towards him, giving him a smack I'm sure he'll never forget. "Stop being so heartless," I said.


	14. Fourteen: I'm Scared

I let my hand fall to my side again, glaring at Nathaniel as he lifted a hand to touch the spot on his face that I hit. His gaze fell on me, cold and hard.

"She's in love with you," I said slowly, "Have a heart and stop being such a jerk. See things from her point of view for a minute. One of her best friends was in the hospital. Her boyfriend was accusing her of cheating. She had a hangover. She can't even go home to be happy. She was already standing on the edge yesterday when Amber ran into her. Clearly she doesn't like Amber so of course she was pushed over the edge."

"She was the one who messed up," he muttered, rolling his eyes, "Take this up with her."

"I feel like I'm talking to a wall!" I exclaimed, feeling frustrated. I pulled the drawing out of my bag and roughly threw it at him, "Take this. I'm sure she'd want you to have it."

He unrolled it, gazing at it for a moment. I could've sworn that I saw his gaze soften, even just for a few moments. "I don't want this," he said, rolling it back up and holding it out for me to take.

"No," I said, "Keep it. I don't want it either." I pulled my bag back over my shoulder, approaching the door. "I'd love to be your friend if you'd stop being such a jerk," I said, "If not, whatever; I'll live without you."

I slammed the door before he could respond. Gazing around, I realized the bell must have already rung; the halls were deserted. I sighed, walking slowly to my class. I was already late so hurrying was pointless. I gazed at the floor. Nathaniel had to consider it. I could've have thought of a better way to word what I said. Maybe he did take it to heart but he didn't want it to show.

While I was walking, I somehow managed to slip on someone's things on the ground in my heels. I fell backwards and landed right in someone's arms. I tilted my head back to see although I knew who it was by the smell.

"Sorry," I said, smiling as I stood up straight. He chuckled, waving it off.

"Were you late coming?" he asked.

"No," I said, scratching my head, "I had some business to take care of."

"I see," he said, "Well I had fun the other night."

"Me too," I responded, "Everyone ended up in kind of a mess because of it, but it was still fun."

He shrugged. "Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to… hang out today," he said.

"Yeah, sure, I'm free," I said, smiling.

"Great," he said, "Well, I have a class to get to."

"See you later," I said, waving as he went off in a different direction.

•••

It was lunch time. Maya had her lunch tray in her hands, standing on her toes outside searching for her friends. She approached them, happily. Castiel sat on the end, his elbow on the table and his face in his palm. He looked slightly bored, watching Celeste as she laid on her back on the table, her head rested where Lysander's tray should be. She was drawing him.

Maya sat down across from Castiel.

"I want to go home," she sighed, picking at her food, "It feels like none of the teachers want to give me a break today."

"So let's skip," Castiel said, "We can hang out at my apartment for a while, or go see Orihime."

"Sounds great," Maya said, "But how will we…" She trailed off as her gaze found Nathaniel, standing near the entrance to the building some distance behind Castiel. He was talking to someone from the student council. Oh, that glorious smile of his that always seemed to light up his face. He was just so adorable.

Celeste nudged Maya back to the conversation. "Go talk to him, Maya," she said, "I still think he's the biggest jerk in the world but if you want him back, just staring at him isn't going to do anything."

Maya took a deep breath before nodding. Why did she feel so nervous? Before he broke up with her, talking to him was like talking to Celeste; it was as easy as it could get. She forced herself to her feet, approaching him slowly. He had his back turned to her now, so he didn't see her coming. She nibbled on her lip before tapping his shoulder. He had a smile on his face when he turned but when he saw that it was her, his smile faded.

"Do you need something?" he said formally, as if she was a complete stranger.

"I… um, I just wanted to… uh…" what was she going to say again? She couldn't seem to remember why she'd approached him due to she was so nervous. His brow went up after a moment.

"Well if you don't have anything to say," he said before turning back around.

"Nathaniel, I miss you," she blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

He muttered something to the person he was talking to before turning and walking away. Maya felt a bit dazed, watching him just flat out ignore her.

"Nathaniel," she said. He didn't even look back.

Her gaze blurred and she felt as if she'd lost control of her body for a few moments, but the next thing she knew, she was pouncing on him. She tackled him to the ground, taking his shoulders and squeezing them.

"Listen to me," she said forcefully, "I'm in love with you. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for drinking behind your back, I'm sorry for yelling at you, I'm sorry for doing what I did to Amber. I'm sorry for coming to this school and I know I'm just a nuisance to you, I'm sorry for bothering you every day and I understand why you can't stand me, and I'm sorry for thinking I could be a good girlfriend to someone who deserves so much better than me. I'm sorry for everything." She blinked hard. Were those tears building in her eyes? She shook her head, wiping them away with her sleeve. Crying over a boy was intolerable, even now. "You don't have to call me every day," she murmured, still wiping away the tears that kept coming out, "You don't have to tell me you love me. You don't have to buy me gifts. I just want you to be there for me."

It seemed to be silent aside from her sniffling until Nathaniel flipped her so that she was the one pinned to the ground. He entwined his hands with hers, pressing his lips to hers. Maya felt happiness to her core as she pulled her hands in his up above her head on the cold grass. The kiss gradually grew more passionate and for those few long moments, she felt as if it was just her on this planet with Nathaniel. He squeezed her hands in his, putting just centimeters between their lips. She panted, cracking her eyes open. His gaze on her was soft and his breath against her lips was warm.

"I love you," he said, slipping his hands away from hers and holding her tightly by her waist, "I love you so much that it scares me. I think that's why I kept pushing you away."

Maya pressed her forehead to his, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm scared too," she murmured, "Normally I don't tend to go back to guys who break up with me like that, but here I am, with you."

He kissed her tenderly before tucking his chin over her shoulder. She gazed around them. People were staring.

"Nathan," she said softly, "We should probably stand up now. This most likely doesn't look good for the student body president."

"Ah, you're right," he said, sitting up, a sheepish smile on his face. He took her hand, getting to his feet and helping her to hers. "Why don't you come eat in the student council room?" he asked, "It will be empty at this time."

She nodded. "Sounds great," she said, happily, "I just gotta get my lunch. Wait here, okay?"

She hurried back to her friends. Castiel looked just as bored as he was before, Lysander looked neutral, and Celeste's jaw was dropped. Maya gathered her things and lifted up her tray.

"I'll see you guys later," she said, happily. She heard no response as she hurried back to Nathaniel. He entwined hands with her as they entered the building. "I can't tell you how sorry I am," she said sincerely, "I was just having a stressful day."

He pulled her closer to him by her hand, kissing her forehead. They reached the student council room and went inside, sitting so that they wouldn't be seen from the window, near the wall. Her chair was pressed against his as she leaned her body to his as well, finishing her food.

Once Maya's tray was empty, she gazed up at him. "Let's go to the beach tonight," she said, "After sunset. I think it would be fun. We could go alone or I could invite Celeste and Lysander if you're okay with that."

"That sounds great," he said, "Invite whoever you want, I don't mind."

"Awesome," she said happily, "Just get to the beach when I text you." He nodded.

"I will," he said, "Should I bring something to swim in?"

"Yeah," she said, "It's pretty warm out so by tonight, the water will be warm."

It was an hour before legal curfew, but it only made going to the beach all the more exciting. Maya robed herself in a coal black bikini with a purple wrap-around to cover her chest and torso, although it was translucent. She pulled on a pair of jean shorts over her bottoms before calling Celeste and letting her know it was okay to pick her up now. Maya snuck out while her parents slept and met Celeste outside in her car. She climbed in the passenger's seat, glancing back. Orihime sat in the back with Castiel, a pair of crutches lying across their laps. They weren't dressed to swim, which was understandable with Orihime's injury. Celeste, on the other hand, looked fabulous in her very revealing one-piece.

"Hey guys," Maya said, grinning. They conversed until they arrived at the beach. The sand was soft and cool under Maya's feet as she approached the water. She sat near the shore and called Nathaniel, letting him know that he could come now. This beach wasn't too far from his home, so when he arrived, it had only been minutes later. Maya rushed over to him and pulled him on to the beach. He didn't seem to notice Castiel and vice versa.

"So," she said happily as she sat down in the sand, pulling him down beside her, "Don't you think the beach is so pretty under the moonlight?"

"Of course," he said, smiling, "But then again, I always enjoy things so much more with you."

She giggled, lying back in the sand and tucking her hands behind her head. Nathaniel gazed at her with soft eyes before leaning forward and kissing her. She held him close and his hands ran down her side and her leg to her calf, where she lifted her leg, pointing with her toes to the night sky. He kissed her hard, caressing the leg that she'd extended out. Warmth spread all over her body. It kept getting warmer and warmer until she suddenly felt hot. His kissed trailed down to her neck, where he found a good spot along the crane of her neck. She felt his teeth sink into her, not enough to hurt but just enough to add pressure and she felt a tug on her skin. Her body continued to heat up and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, returning her foot to the sand. She bit her lip, feeling a bit numb as she squeezed him in her arms. After a few moments, he sat up again, wiping his lips and blushing. Maya sat up as well, touching the spot his lips were.

"A hickey?" she said, playfully hitting him in the chest, "You're going to pay!" She tackled him to the sand and returned the favor twice; once just underneath his jaw on one side of his neck and one just above his collar bone on his neck. "That's what you get," she said, grinning mischievously.


	15. Fifteen: The Things I'm Becoming

Two months. Maya and Nathaniel had been together for two months, but were already like a newlywed couple; constantly showering each other with affection and speaking to each other like they'd been together for years instead of months.

The sunlight filtered through the blinds in Maya's bedroom as she snuggled close to Nathaniel as he slept. It was well into winter but the sun still shined brightly, despite the chilled weather. Maya struggled against the cold in her room, holding Nathaniel close and pulling the blanket over her shoulder. Her parents didn't turn on the heating in their home if they weren't home. Finally giving in, Maya sat up and climbed out of bed, tugging at her short, laced up black and pink lingerie top. The spaghetti straps and the fact that she wasn't wearing pants didn't help.

Maya changed into a sweater and sweat pants before washing up in the bathroom. Sniffling from the cold, she descended the stairs in her thick socks and slippers, approaching the thermostat. She turned it up and the heat automatically turned on. She returned upstairs to her room, where she found Nathaniel sitting up in her bed, lacking a shirt. She felt the sparks go off in her chest; his fit body never ceased to amaze her. She closed the door, leaning against it and smiling at him.

"So," she said, "Your birthday is coming up, right?"

"It's January, isn't it?" he said, leaning back against her headboard, "Yes, it is."

"What do you want?" she asked, "Give me a list, I'll buy you one random thing."

"You don't have to buy me something," he said, "There's only one thing I want from you."

She giggled, taking note of the flirty hints. Getting intimate was still a new thing in their relationship, but it wasn't abnormal considering they would both be eighteen by graduation, which would be in just a few short months. He climbed out of bed and threw on a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants.

"What should we do for the weekend?" he asked.

"I don't know yet," she said, "My parents still aren't home so first let's go down to the kitchen and make breakfast."

He chuckled, taking her hand before she led him out the door. She squeezed his hand, leading the way to the kitchen. Together they made pancakes. Maya was just preparing hers with syrup before a footstep sounded in the other room. She glanced over at Nathaniel, who was too absorbed in the preparation of his pancakes to even notice it. She wandered off cautiously into the living room gazing around. The pain came before the hit. Before she knew it, she was up against the wall, a hand at her throat.

"You," her father growled at her, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be gone by now."

"I-" she stammered.

"Shut the hell up," he spat, "I expect you to be gone in an hour."

Out of the corner of her eye, in her peripheral vision, she could see something golden. In a second, she was snatched away into Nathaniel's arms. He held her protectively against his chest, so close that she could feel the warmth of his neck against her cheek. Her father's expression went from angry to absolutely infuriated.

"Who is this?" her father growled, "Your boyfriend? Has he been here all night?" He yelled a jumble of curse words, labeling Maya as an open person although she'd only ever slept with Nathaniel in her life. "You know what, I can't do this anymore," he sighed, "Just get out. I don't want you, the abortion failed, and you mean nothing to me. Go get your stuff and get the hell out of my house. I can't deal with you anymore."

Maya pulled away from Nathaniel and ran up the stairs to her bedroom. Why did she feel like everything was falling apart? It wasn't like she liked living there; she only did it because of the legal consequences. Why did his words just now hurt her so much more than anything else he'd said to her? Tears fell from her chin as she collected her suitcases from under her bed. Where was she supposed to go? She could ask Nathaniel, but she wasn't sure if she could stay sane living under the same roof as Amber, and that aside, he didn't have any extra room in his home. She bit her lip, recalling what Castiel had said to her about if things getting too bad. But what would Nathaniel think of that, letting her stay with him?

"Nathaniel," she said softly when the door closed, "I know a place I could stay but… I'm not sure you'd like it too much."

He knelt down behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me that you had it so bad here?" he asked softly, "I wish I could let you stay with me, I really do. But if you need to, you can stay with Castiel."

Maya nodded, holding the arms over her chest. "Thank you," she murmured, "We can hang out at your house or we can go out somewhere too when we want to spend time together." She glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Nathaniel," she said, her voice so soft it was nearly a whisper, "Let's get jobs. After graduation, if we have enough money, let's live together. We can find an apartment. One day, we could get married and have children… I just want to spend the rest of my life with you."

His lips met her cheek tenderly before he said, "Of course. We'll do whatever you want, Maya."

She couldn't help but smile. "Could you help me pack?" she asked, "I just want to get this done as soon as I can so I can leave."

He nodded, sitting beside her and helping her pack her clothing. Once she was done, she packed everything else she needed. She and Nathaniel both changed into jeans, t-shirts and hoodies. She combed her hair and he helped carry her things outside. Maya called Celeste, who gladly drove over after hearing what happened. She drove the both of them to Castiel's apartment building, dropping Maya off. Nathaniel helped carry her things to Castiel's door but didn't enter. Celeste would be returning, but wanted to drive Nathaniel home first.

Maya knocked lightly on Castiel's door. She'd called him beforehand but still felt a little nervous. Although she knew they were just friends, it would be the first time she would be living with a boy who she wasn't related to. A loud barking on the other side of the door made her jump. She heard Castiel's voice hush the barking before the door opened. He didn't smile or greet her; he just reached right for her bags. He carried all of her bags inside, leading her through his apartment.

"You can sleep here," he said, entering a room with a full-sized bed, a white dresser, and a white nightstand beside the bed.

"Thanks again, Castiel," she said, "I really hate asking you to mooch off of, but I didn't know where else to go."

He shrugged, setting her things down. He sat on the edge of her new bed as she knelt down, beginning to unpack her things into the closet.

"Why did you get kicked out?" he asked.

"Uh," she stammered, biting her lip sheepishly, "Well… it's kind of a long story."

He cocked his head to one side, curiosity showing in his eyes. "Yeah?" he pressed.

"My dad was hitting me," she said slowly, "And then… Nathaniel came in and helped me out. And then he figured out that Nathan slept over and just put… two and two together."

Grimacing, Castiel looked away. "That's gross," he muttered.

"Hey, you're only saying that because it's Nathaniel I'm talking about," she said, "I'm sure you've done things with Orihime."

"So your dad kicked you out because of that?"

Maya giggled at his quickness to change the subject. "Yeah, stupid as it is," she said, "He doesn't care about me; he only did it to hurt me. But I turn eighteen this summer so it doesn't matter. And don't worry, I won't be in your hair for long. Nat and I are planning to move in together after graduation when we get the money."

He shrugged. "It's cool," he said.

She finished unpacking, wishing Nathaniel could be helping her but the stupid feud that Castiel and Nathaniel had together was frustrating. After she finished unpacking, she stuffed her bags under her bed.

"So," he said, "I suppose you're just planning to sit in here all day long and text your boyfriend?"

"Of course not," Maya said as Castiel's dog, Demon approached her. He was on the large side and his head was up to her hips. She smiled, petting him and scratching behind his ears until he began licking her hands.

"He likes you," Castiel said.

"He seems like a nice dog," she said, kneeling down in front of him and playing with his ears. "Aren't you, boy?" she said, cheerfully, "You're a good boy, right?"

Demon licked her face excitedly and she giggled, getting to her feet and facing Castiel.

"So," she said, "Do you have any plans?"

"Not really," he said.

"Then what do you want to do?" she asked, "Celeste said she was coming back after dropping Nathaniel off."

"Let's call Orihime and invite her too, to whatever we do," he said.

"Okay," Maya said, "Are you dating yet?"

Avoiding her gaze, he shook his head. "Not yet," he said.

"You say that every time," she said.

He rolled his eyes. "Stop trying to pry," he muttered, "It's not your business."

"I'm curious," she said, shrugging, "I don't even know what happened when you guys suddenly hit it off."

There was a long pause before he said, "When she got in the car accident, it was my fault. I was the one who convinced her to drive the car. She said she doesn't have her temps yet at all, so I dared her to do it. We were so wasted that we didn't even see a problem with it. So she did and she swerved in the way of another car. It was all my fault."

"Not really," Maya said, "You were drunk. It wasn't your fault. She's better now, isn't she? In a way, that terrible accident was a good thing; it brought you both closer together."

He shrugged. "I do stupid things when I'm drunk," he said, "I always end up screwing something up but it's just so much fun."

"Don't feel bad," she said, "Drinking is fun! Just don't do it too much, or it'll ruin the fun of it."

"I haven't had anything since then," he said.

"Well then," Maya said, grinning, "Let's invite Lysander, along with Orihime and Celeste, and then we can all drink together tonight! I know I need to let loose. Midterms just ended, and what happened with my dad; I'm stressed."

He nodded. "I can live with that," he said.

"Awesome!" she said, happily.


	16. Sixteen: Lies and Broken Promises

Maya nearly ran into Celeste while she was taking a look around the apartment. Gazing at the open door behind Celeste, she realized that she'd just burst in without knocking.

"Oh my, gosh," Celeste said, a grin on her face as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, "I wish you could have been with Nathaniel and I. We went to confront your dad."

"What?" Maya said, her jaw dropping.

"We just wanted to know why he's insane," she said, shrugging, "I was hoping he was at least draw-worthy. But it turns out he's just as crazy as I thought."

"Okay," Maya said, "And what happened?"

"Well he kept talking crap about you," she said, "And he started flipping out about it. So Nathaniel ended up punching him in the face."

Her jaw dropping, she gasped. "Seriously?" she said, "Then what happened?"

"Well he got him in the mouth," she said, "And I guess his tooth went into his lip and he was bleeding really bad, and then we ran. I couldn't stop laughing."

"That's terrible!" Maya said although she couldn't manage to stifle her giggle, "That's not like Nathaniel at all either. Did you take him home?"

"Yeah," she said, "I saw Amber. She gave me a dirty look so I gave her the finger and left."

Maya laughed. "She'll never learn her lesson," she muttered, shaking her head.

"What did you want me for?" she asked.

"Tonight, we're going to drink again," Maya said, "I called Orihime and Lysander too."

"That sounds amazing," she said, grinning, "Are we going to party it up here? We can party at my house and invite more people. My parents are hardly ever home and we have people to clean up after us too."

"That's perfect," Maya said.

"Awesome," Celeste said, grabbing her hand, "Let's go shopping then. We can buy some sexy little dresses."

"Sure," she said, "But I can't hit on anybody, I have a boyfriend."

Shrugging, Celeste said, "It doesn't hurt anybody if you flirt around a little," she said, "Just don't get laid. Nathaniel won't find out."

"It sounds fun," she said, "But it still makes me feel a little guilty."

"Have you ever gone to a party before?" Celeste said, "Nobody's going to remember what happens tomorrow morning anyway."

Celeste dragged Maya to her car and drove in the direction of the mall. She held Maya's hand, leading her to a dress store. She handed Maya dozens of dresses to try on until she found a very revealing and tight black one. It was the shortest thing Maya had ever worn, just barely covering the things that needed to be covered. It was sleeveless and low-cut and it laced up in the back in a way that showed her skin.

"Perfect!" Celeste gushed, "Let's get you some heels and we can go to my house and get you all pretty."

"I haven't even told Castiel where this is happening," Maya said.

"So text him on the way," she said, "We have a lot to do! I need a new dress too, mine all got old to me."

"How are you going to afford both dresses?" Maya asked, "These are name brand dresses; it's going to be almost two hundred dollars all together."

Shrugging, Celeste said, "My parents are very successful, Maya." She pulled a wallet out of her back pocket and flashed a gold credit card.

Eventually, Celeste bought a dress that was salmon colored and even more revealing than Maya's. They took their dresses and stopped at a shoe store. She bought a pair of red stilettos for herself and a black pair for Maya. Afterwards, they went to Celeste's house to do makeup. Maya received a text message from Castiel that read, 'Can we go now? I told a bunch of people to be there in like an hour.'

She texted back a yes before Celeste forced her to look up so that she could finish up her makeup. By the time they were both done, there was a knock on the door. Maya descended the stairs right behind her. Celeste opened the door to reveal Castiel and Lysander, dressed as they would on a normal day. Both boys blushed the second they saw them and Castiel looked away.

"Don't we look just great?" Celeste said grinning as she wiggled a little in her dress before playfully elbowing Maya, "I bet we're going to outdo all the other girls."

Maya looked away. Indeed, she agreed that they both looked great but she wasn't used to dressing like this or wearing so much makeup. It was only on her eyes, but normally Maya didn't wear any makeup at all.

"So where's Orihime?" Celeste asked Castiel, "I'm going to dress her up too when she gets here. I can loan her one of my dresses."

"I'm right here," Orihime's voice sounded softly from behind Castiel and Lysander. She peaked out from over their shoulders, her head just barely poking up. Celeste giggled as the two boys stepped aside for Orihime to come inside.

"Okay, you two," Celeste said to the boys, "You guys can get my place ready for tonight. Take everything that looks expensive and put it in the storage in my backyard and get the booze out."

"Why?" Castiel said, clenching his jaw but avoiding Celeste's gaze. Maya could understand; Celeste looked absolutely beautiful and that much beauty was a little bit intimidating.

"Because if my parents found out I threw a party, we're going to move again," she said, lifting her hand elegantly and touching his chin, "So be a doll for me, Castiel, and get my place ready."

He grimaced, pushing her hand away before brushing past her inside just before Celeste grinned at Lysander and he followed Castiel without protest. After closing the door, Celeste took Orihime's hand and pulled her upstairs. Sighing, Maya walked slowly through Celeste's home, her heals clicking against the white tiled floor with each step as she slowly approached the open back doors. She stepped outside and a cold gust of wind pushed past her. She cringed, crossing her arms and leaning against the door, watching Castiel and Lysander. It was amazing that out of all the guys in the world, Celeste had these two doing her chores. Castiel approached her, rubbing his forehead.

"I already have a headache," he sighed.

"Me too," Maya agreed, "I can't wait to get some alcohol in my system."

Maya awoke to Demon licking her face. She had a throbbing migraine and felt nauseated and last night was like a dream; she couldn't remember it but she knew she had fun. She groaned in pain, sitting up and gazing around to realize she was back in Castiel's apartment. Puzzled, she checked her cell phone. She had three missed calls and two text messages from Nathaniel. She felt guilt wash over her but she set her phone down without replying to him at all; her head hurt too much for communication. She laid back down, extending her arms out on either side of her.

"Ow," Celeste's voice muttered from under the blanket beside her, "Go back to sleep, Maya."

Rolling her eyes, Maya drew her hands back to her sides. She wanted to fall back asleep but she couldn't; aside from being sick to her stomach, she was worried about Nathaniel. As if he could sense how he felt, Demon whined a little, lying down beside her. She smiled at him, rubbing his head.

Celeste sighed, sitting up beside Maya. She looked like she wore nothing but one of Castiel's band t-shirts.

"My head hurts," she said, rubbing her eyes, "Do you remember anything that happened last night?"

"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "How did we get here?"

"No idea," Celeste said, shrugging, "And what am I wearing? What happened to my dress?"

Maya shrugged, slipping out of bed. Demon followed her closely. "I really have to go to the bathroom," she said. After she did her business and washed her hands, she stepped out and noticed Lysander lying on the couch, his eyes closed. She decided to peek in Castiel's room only to find that it was empty.

"They're not here," Lysander's voice said behind her, "They're still at Celeste's house."

"Oh," Maya said, turning to face him, "So how did we get here?"

"I didn't drink," he said, "I drove you two home but Castiel and Orihime wanted to stay."

"Oh, well thanks for that," she said, "But you wouldn't happen to know where Castiel's pain reliever pills are, would you? My head is killing me."

He shrugged. "Sorry," he said, "You would have to ask Castiel."

Maya sighed, walking back to her bedroom. Just as she stepped in, she heard the front door open.

"Castiel," Orihime's soft voice said desperately, "Stop, you drank too much."

Maya returned to the living room. Castiel was stumbling over his own feet, his arm slung over Orihime's shoulders. He breathed a chuckle.

"Hey," he said, pushing her lightly, "You were the one who took me to the bar." His words came out slurred and just barely understandable.

"You went to a bar?" Maya said in astonishment.

"Hey look, it's Maya," he said, stumbling towards her. He threw his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them until she felt a sharp pain. "You're so hot," he gushed.

"Castiel, Orihime is right, you should just get some sleep," she said.

"Shut up," he muttered before forcing her into a kiss so tight that she couldn't pull away. Her eyes wide, she struggled in his grasp but he was too strong for her. She heard a light gasp from Orihime behind Castiel and she struggled harder but he refused to let go. When he finally pulled his lips away from hers, he leaned forward so that his chin was on her shoulder and his arms loosely held her back. "Maya, why don't they love me?" he said, "Make them love me!"

"What are you talking about?" she said still attempting to pull away from him. His grasp on her tightened to the point where she was gasping for air. He unlaced the back of the dress she was still wearing with one pull of a string. "Castiel, stop!" she exclaimed. Lysander attempted to pull Castiel off of Maya when he noticed Celeste had wandered in there curiously. He stood close to her, protectively guarding her. Orihime leaped on Castiel's back, tears in her eyes as she attempted to pull Castiel off. He shrugged Orihime off easily before she grasped his arm and tugged at it. He jerked his arm away from her, giving her a slap on the face so hard that she fell back and began shying away, holding her cheek.

Castiel gazed at Orihime, looking dazed. Maya used this chance to pull away from him and she knelt down beside Orihime.

"Orihime," she said softly, reaching for her hand, "Come on, let's go to my room. Celeste will drive you home once she's feeling up to it, okay? Lysander will calm Castiel down and I'll have him call you when he's sober."

She simply nodded limply as Maya pulled her to her feet. She widely skirted Castiel who still looked in a daze, passing Lysander and returning to her bedroom. Orihime sat on the bed, gazing at her lap and Maya closed the door. Celeste sat beside Orihime and comforted her as Maya changed out of her dress and into a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt. She threw on a random hoody, checking her cell phone just in time to receive a call. It was from Nathaniel.


	17. Seventeen: Protect You

Maya took a deep, slow breath before answering it.

"Hello?" she said.

"Maya," Nathaniel responded, worry evident in his voice, "You didn't answer my calls, so I got worried. I'm sorry if I seem a little clingy."

"I don't care," she said, waving it off, "I was just a little busy. Sorry about that."

"You weren't drinking with Castiel or anything, were you?"

"No," she said, without hesitation. She felt her heart pound anyways, although she knew she would be covered.

"Did you hang out with Celeste?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," she said. It was a bit of a weird question.

"I heard she had a huge rave party yesterday," he said, "Everyone was drunk."

"Oh," she said, "I hung out with her before that. She asked me if I wanted to go but I said no. I stayed home and played with Demon, Castiel's dog."

"I see," he said, "Let's go out somewhere and have lunch today. Do you want to?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, unable to hide her smile.

"Great," he said, "I'll come and pick you up in an hour."

"Okay," she responded, "I'll be waiting."

"I love you," he said softly.

Every time he said those words, her heartbeat quickened and she felt butterflies in her stomach. This time was no different. "I love you too," she murmured, "so much."

There was a pause before he said, "I'll call you when I get there."

"Alright. Bye, Nathan."

"Bye."

She bit her lip, hating to hang up the phone but just managing to. She stuffed her phone in her pocket, sighing as she gazed at Orihime curled up on the bed. Celeste was still wearing only Castiel's t-shirt.

"Celeste," Maya said, "Change. I don't know where your dress is but you can wear some of my clothes."

Celeste nodded and Maya turned away as she changed. Once she was done, they both drove Orihime home together before stopping at Celeste's house. Celeste wandered around. There were people passed out here and there and everything was a mess. She kicked every one awake and sent them home before putting on her own clothing and returning Maya's. She drove Maya back to Castiel's house but didn't stay. Maya leaned against the wall, gazing at Castiel in his sleep. Lysander must have left.

Sighing, Maya looked away. He almost took off her dress this morning. What was it that he planned to accomplish in that? She bit her lip as she thought of what she once heard, "The things people say when they're drunk is what they really feel." Is that really what he wanted from her? Shaking her head, she let her gaze fall to the floor. That couldn't be true. If Castiel wanted someone like that, it was Orihime. If he decided he wanted a second, he would choose Celeste. She was gorgeous and had plenty of things in common with Castiel; their parental problems, their need for independence, even their hair color was similar. If he wanted a second option, why would it be Maya? All of that aside, she had a boyfriend and he knew that well enough. Maybe he did it to anger Nathaniel. If he would've succeeded, surely she would've eventually blurted it out to Nathaniel. Just thinking about doing that kind of thing with anybody besides Nathaniel made her feel so guilty that her palms felt moist.

The knock on the door made her jump. Maya took a few deep breaths before approaching it and opening it slowly. Seeing Nathaniel's face, she couldn't fight the urge to jump into his arms and hold him tightly. He kissed her lightly on the cheek before she tilted her head and kissed his lips. He returned it hard and passionately. The barking behind her made her jump and she took a deep breath before kneeling down beside Demon.

"Hush," she said quietly, "You're going to wake Castiel." He whined a little before fidgeting on his front paws. She rubbed his head, getting to her feet. "Do you want a walk?" she asked. He whined again. "Aw," she said, "Don't worry, honey, I'll walk you when I get home, okay?" His tail drooped and he walked towards Castiel. Nathaniel took her hands.

"There's this new restaurant that opened up near the school," he said, his eyes warm, "Let's go there. I'll pay." She smiled, leaning forward and kissing his lips.

"What are we waiting for?" she said, grinning.

He smiled, tightening his grasp on one hand but releasing the other as he led her outside. They walked to the restaurant.

"There are job openings there," he said, "I just wanted to see what it's like there and maybe one of us could apply for it."

"We could," she said, "But today while we're eating there, let's not dwell too much on the business stuff; let's just have fun together."

"Good idea," he said.

The rest of the walk was silent but Maya was just happy to be with him. Once they arrived, the woman at the counter led them to an open booth. Maya began to enter the side across from Nathaniel when he protested.

"Wait, no," he said, "Sit next to me."

Smiling, she agreed and slid in beside him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned her head back on his shoulder.

"Why did you want me to sit here?" she asked.

"Because across from me is too far away," he said softly.

She giggled, her cheeks heating up before she nudged him playfully. "That's cheesy," she said, although her voice gave away that what he said made her happy. She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. "Why are you so perfect?"

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm not perfect," he said softly, "I just love you so much that I hate it when you're angry with me."

She giggled again, giving him a squeeze just before the waitress arrived to take their orders.

After they ate, they went to Nathaniel's house since he knew nobody would be home. Maya leaned against the wall of his bedroom, gazing around.

"Remember the last time I was in here?" she said, softly.

"Of course," Nathaniel said, sitting on his bed. The last time she was in there was the first time they got intimate together.

"I can't wait until graduation," she said, happily, "Once we move in together, we won't have to worry about our relationship, or where we should go to spend time together."

He got to his feet, approaching her slowly. He put his hands on either side of her, leaning close and kissing her hard. His hands explored her body. He was like a drug to her; whenever he did this kind of thing she always wanted more. She released her breath that she'd been holding in as he kissed her neck. He roughly pulled off her top, tossing it behind him. He began to kiss her shoulders, pulling her undergarment straps down. He stopped suddenly, standing up straight as he gazed at her shoulder.

"Is that a bruise?" he said. She strained her neck to gaze at her shoulder, and surely enough, there were bruises in the shapes of Castiel's fingers on her shoulder. She gazed at the opposite one to see the same thing. "Who did this?" he said, "Was it Castiel?"

"Uh, no," she stammered, "It was… I…"

"It _was_ him," he said, an infuriated look taking over his face. He approached the door, she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"He was drunk," she said, "He didn't mean to do it and he would never have done something like that if he was sober."

"If he's going to drink and use that as an excuse to hurt you, I don't want you staying with him," he said sternly, "And he was sober that day he was raising his fist against you at the school."

"You don't understand," she said, "It wasn't his intention to hurt me, okay? And anyways, he doesn't drink too often either."

"I don't care if he drinks once a year," he said, "I don't want to risk you getting hurt."

"Nathaniel, you have no idea how drunk he was," she said, "I was surprised that he wasn't already dead from alcohol poisoning. In fact, he could be dead right now; it was a big risk to leave him home alone. If he had just stopped drinking at Celeste's party he would've woke up with a hangover this morning and none of this would've happened."

"I don't care," he said, "As long as he's drinking at all, he's still dangerous."

"To be honest, Nathaniel," she said, "I don't mind him hitting me when he's drunk, as long as it's not every day. If it's not every day, it's still much better than being at home. And anyways, where would I stay if not at Castiel's?"

"You could stay with Celeste," he said, "And maybe Orihime has room."

"Okay, fine," she said, "How about a deal? Since I don't want to pack my bags and move them somewhere else after a day, how about if he does it again, I'll leave. Does that sound good?"

"No," he said, "I know that you'll defend him for whatever crazy reason you have. You won't tell me."

"Because I don't want violence," she said, "I don't want the guy I'm in love with and my best friend solving problems physically."

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Well I can't just forget about it," he said, "You're my girlfriend."

"Just trust me," she said, "If I say it's okay for me to stay with him, it should be okay, right?" She pointed on her shirt behind him. "Hand me that if you don't want to see the marks," she said, "I'll keep my shirt on this time."

He handed her the shirt and she pulled it on doing the opposite to her bottoms before propping herself on him, her legs around his waist. "Ready?" he said.

"Only if you are."


	18. Eighteen: Scum

A loud barking on the other side of the door made Maya smile. She'd spent hours with Nathaniel; after they finished up in his bedroom, they made snacks and watched movies. It was time for dinner already. She ran her fingers through her hair, taking a deep breath as she took the door knob. She wasn't sure if she could manage to looks at Castiel the same way as before. She turned it slowly and it opened, pulling her along with it. She lifted her gaze and found herself face-to-face with Castiel before she took a step back.

"You're up," she said, gazing at her feet, "Um… if you're hung over, we could order out."

"What's wrong?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing," she said a bit too quickly, "I'm just a little hungry."

"Okay," he said slowly, "You have your phone with you, don't you? Let's order some pizza."

She nodded quickly, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket and dialing the number.

"You don't have to stand out there all day," he said, stepping aside. She nodded, entering by scaling the doorframe opposite him. "Is… something wrong?" he asked, "Did I do something?"

"No, no," she said quickly as she called the number. Just as she'd thought of an explanation, the pizza place answered. She ordered a pizza with plenty of meat on it before returning her cell phone to her pocket. Castiel gazed at her expectantly, leaning against the door. "Uh," she stammered, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay, so go," he said. She hurried to her bedroom, closing the door behind her as she took a few deep breaths to relax herself. "He's sober now," she whispered to herself, "He won't do anything bad to me. He won't hurt me." She told herself that continuously as she pulled out some pajamas to relax in for the rest of the night. She attempted to lengthen her shower longer than usual but it was only lengthened by five minutes. She robed herself before peeking out of the bathroom. Castiel was paying for the pizza at the door so she decided to step out slowly. She sat down at the table across from Castiel.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked.

"Do you remember this morning at all?" she asked.

"Not… really," he said, thoughtfully.

"Let's just say you were very impulsive," she said, "And very rough and someone got hurt."

"What?" he said, "Who got hurt? What did I do?"

"Um… well…" she gazed down at her pizza in her hands. As if Demon could sense her fear, he barked at her, wagging his tail playfully to cheer her up. "You were coming on to me…" she said slowly, "And you went a little bit too far. Orihime tried to stop you and you… slapped her."

His eyes widened before he buried his face in his hands. "I told you," he said, "I do stupid things when I'm drunk. I'm never drinking again."

"It's probably a good idea if neither of us does," she said, "Nathaniel and I kind of got into an argument today about living here when he saw the bruises on my shoulders." She bit her lip hard, remembering that that was a detail she hadn't included.

"Living here?" he said, "The party was at Celeste's house though. What happened here?"

"It's no big deal," she said, feigning nonchalance with a wave of her hand, "When you were coming on to me you squeezed my shoulders a little too hard."

"I gave you bruises?" he said slowly, "Damn… We shouldn't have had that party in the first place."

"It was my fault," she said, "I was the one who suggested it."

"It wasn't anybody's fault," he said, "It's not like you knew what would happen."

She shrugged, taking a bite of her pizza. "Well," she said, "At least you didn't end up like Celeste. She woke up in nothing but a t-shirt. She still has no idea where her dress is."

He stifled a chuckle. "Wow," he said.

Maya awoke the next morning to a call from Nathaniel. She answered it as she climbed out of bed to prepare for the day at school.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Maya, guess what," he said feverishly, "The letter got here from that dancing school you auditioned for."

She couldn't manage to stifle her squeal. She put as the sending address for his place thankfully since she knew that if her parents saw it they'd tear it up.

"I opened it," he said, "I got curious. I'm not going to tell you what it says but I'll show it to you at school."

Maya nodded and they exchanged goodbyes before she hurriedly prepared herself for the day. She put herself a bowl of cereal and devoured it in a few spoons. Castiel opened his bedroom door to reveal himself in pajamas with messy hair and tired eyes. She giggled.

"You're going to be late!" she said, tossing her empty plate in the sink.

"Who cares?" he muttered, disappearing into the bathroom.

She shrugged before hurrying outside. She jogged all the way to school, bursting through the doors. There were hardly any other students out this early, which helped her since she was dashing through the halls towards the student council room. She nearly ran into Nathaniel on her way in, but he didn't mind since he was just as excited as she was. He handed her the paper and she only had to read the first paragraph to know that she was accepted. She squealed, jumping up and down before throwing herself in Nathaniel's arms.

"This is one of the best dancing schools in the country," she said, "And they accepted _me_ of all people. That makes me feel amazing."

He kissed her cheek. "Just make sure not to leave me until we're ready," he said softly, "I wouldn't be able to bear it."

She giggled, getting to her toes and kissing him tenderly. "You're so cute," she said, "You already know I'm not going to."

After school, Maya approached the student council room again, bull dozing through the crowds in excitement to see him. She knocked on the door, peaking into the window. He was sitting at a desk, looking at something in his hands. She opened the door, closing it behind her and leaning against it.

"Nathan," she sang, happily, a grin stretched across her face, "You know, I think the nickname Nat is cuter… or maybe Natty." She stopped rambling about his name when she noticed that it was as if she wasn't even there. He was looking at something so intensely like his fate was lying in his hands. She approached him. "Nat," she said softly, "What are you looking at?" She peered over his shoulder before gasping. They were photos of her at the party. She snatched them from his hands and he jumped to his feet. "Where did you get these?" she said, "Who gave you these?"

"My sister," he said, frowning, "But that doesn't matter. What matters is…"

"It does matter!" she exclaimed, interrupting him, "Babe, I bet she only gave you the worst pictures she took. She's making it look like I did a lot worse than I actually did at that party."

"How would you know?" he said, grimacing, "You probably don't even remember the night, do you?"

"Of course not!" she said, "But I do know that I never touched another guy that night."

She flipped through the pictures. She did dirty things like pretending to strip, while Celeste beside her was actually stripping. So that's where her dress went. She also poured beer down her dress and flirted with plenty of guys who weren't Nathaniel but she never touched any of them. Was it really cheating?

"You lied to me," he said softly. She lifted her gaze towards him to see tears welling in his eyes. "You broke your promise."

She took a few moments to take in what he was saying and the look on his face. He looked like a child; so much like one that she found herself longing to hold him and tell him that everything would be okay. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her ear against his chest; a hug that he didn't return.

"Nathaniel," she murmured, "Please, don't cry. I'm sorry. Don't break up with me again; I won't be able to bear it."

"Only if you promise me," he said quietly, "Promise me that you will never drink again or go to parties like this. I don't want to limit you but it hurts knowing that all of these guys got to see too much of what's mine."

She couldn't help but smile, lifting her gaze towards him before getting to her toes and kissing his cheek. "I promise," she murmured against his skin. His smile showed so much emotion that she found her heart pounding just at the sight of it. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back tenderly.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too," she murmured, bouncing once on her toes as she said it. She pursed her lips, furrowing her brow. "Wait a second," she said, "Why was Amber at Celeste's party? Celeste doesn't like Amber."

"Everyone was pretty much invited," he said, "Even I was invited, but I didn't go."

"It was fun," she giggled, "Even though I don't really remember it."

"Maya, do you remember the restaurant we went to yesterday?" he asked, "There were openings for a waitress job. You should apply there."

"Great idea," she said, grinning, "Have you found any jobs yet?"

"I found a few that I qualify for," he said, "So I'm going to apply for all of them just in case."

She nodded. "That's a good idea," she said, "Let's do this now."

Maya sighed, exhausted from walking all over the city. The only reason she enjoyed it was that she was with Nathaniel. She opened the door to Castiel's apartment slowly, peering inside. There were people; people everywhere. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. She pushed past everybody, hoping the cups in their hands were only filled with non-alcoholic apple cider. She found Castiel sitting on the couch, a cup in his hands.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed.

"Maya, babe," he said, taking her by the wrist and pulling her on to his lap, "I've been waiting for you!" She gazed at the empty cups in front of him, beginning a pile. He was drunk; not nearly as drunk as last time but still drunk. "Come on, babe," he said, "Let's go to my room."

"No," she said sternly, snatching her wrist from him and getting to her feet.

"Aw," he chuckled, "You know I'll do better than Nathaniel."

She gave him the hardest slap she'd ever managed to slap anybody before, leaving a bright red mark on his face and a little bit of blood stained his pale skin where her nails hit him. His face flushed red with anger and he threw his drink at her, soaking her clothing in the liquid.

"Get out of my face," he said through gritted teeth.

"Gladly," she said before stomping towards her bedroom. She pulled her door open to find a couple lying on her bed in a heated make out. "Get the hell out of my room!" she exclaimed.

"Eh," the guy said, peering over the girl's shoulder, "Little honey at the door; you want a turn too?"

She approached them, her hands clenched in fists with anger. She took the guy by his shirt collar and gazed at him, hoping all of her anger for tonight would be showing through her face.

"I said get the hell out," she said, a grave look on her face.

He sighed, his breath reeking of alcohol. He pulled away from her, taking the girl's hand. "Come on, baby," he said to the girl, "Let's go somewhere else."

Maya slammed the door behind them, spitting to herself, "Scum!"


	19. Nineteen: Castiel and Orihime

Clenching her jaw, Maya locked her door with a swift movement of her hand. She gazed at her fingers. The hand she'd used to slap Castiel with had blood staining her fingertips. She wanted to feel sympathetic for it but she just couldn't feel anything but anger towards him. Why would he lie? She bit her lip. Maybe this was somewhat how Nathaniel felt when he'd found out about the party. Shaking her head, she sighed. He was brave, to forgive her. She changed into pajamas and stripped her bed of the sheets and blanket, tossing them in her hamper. She found the spares she had kept hidden in the closet before robing the bed in them. She curled up in the warm sheets, feeling comfortable. Despite her overwhelming tire, she would never be able to sleep with all the noise. Where were the neighbors? Why wouldn't they call the police or something and stop this? She felt a pang of fear at that; there was under aged drinking going on; Castiel could be arrested for something like this.

Once Maya finally found herself on the verge of sleep, her cell phone vibrated, making her jump. She sighed, lifting it up and gazing at it. Nathaniel.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Maya?" he said, "Is Castiel throwing a party?"

"Ugh!" she groaned, "Yes! I wish he wasn't though!"

"Maya," he said slowly, "Don't lie to me. I was told someone saw you at that party. If you're drinking right now, be honest with me at least."

"I'm not lying," she said, "Come on, Nathaniel, don't assume things. Don't you trust me at all?"

"Well," he said, "You've lied to me more than once before when it came to drinking. I don't even know what else you've lied to me about."

"I'm your _girlfriend_," she protested, "Are you being serious right now? Listen, Nathaniel I'm in no mood to argue with you because I know I'll say something I'll regret."

"We're not arguing," he said, "I'm just telling you what I think."

"Well what you think is wrong," she muttered.

"Excuse me?" he said, "I'm sorry, Maya, but as I recall, I'm not the one lying and doing things behind your back."

Maya opened her mouth for a smart retort, but then stopped herself. She didn't want to argue with him; it hurt too much. She pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up, turning it off, and tossing it on the floor. She didn't want to talk to him anymore; not for the rest of the night. It might make tomorrow difficult but she didn't care as long as she could sleep tonight. She squeezed her eyes closed. It wasn't long before she heard a familiar voice in the apartment that made her sit up.

"Alright, everybody! Party's over so get your life-lacking booties home! Some of them are cute at that. Just don't drive because then I can't draw you if you die. Bye now!"

Celeste! Maya hopped to her feet and hurried towards the door, peering out. It was actually working; the music was turned off and everybody was leaving. Castiel was standing with his hands up as if Celeste would be a threat to him. It was only then did Maya notice Orihime sitting in the corner near a doorway across the room. She had tears in her eyes and her knees were drawn to her chin. She was so pale she almost looked dead, but she was definitely moving. Celeste's heals clicked against the floor once the apartment was empty. The noise of them was approaching Maya's room until she came into view. Of course she looked just as stunning as always; her flaming cherry red hair was flat ironed and looked so elegant and beautiful in contrast with her fishnet stockings, jean shorts, and tight band tee-crop top with nothing under it to reveal the shiny belly-button piercing she had, as well as the black stilettos on her feet. She opened Maya's door slowly.

"You okay?" she said softly.

"Yeah," Maya said, but as soon as she said it, she knew it was a lie. It wasn't fun; being hit on so much by your best guy friend to the point where you feel obliged to slap him or hanging up the phone on your boyfriend in the middle of his accusations towards you or seeing one of your best friends in a fetal position, crying so much her eyes were puffy. Looking at things from this angle made drinking seem like an odious thing.

"Liar," Celeste said, seeing through me better than I could hear my own thoughts. Instead of coming into my room, she spun around, passing Castiel casually and pulling Orihime to her feet, "Ah, there we go, honey. Let's go play Doctor Celeste in Maya's room. Castiel can stay out here and play with dolls or something."

Castiel didn't respond as Celeste passed him again, supporting Orihime towards Maya's room. Maya stepped aside as Celeste approached and Maya closed the door, locking it just in case Castiel got any ideas.

"Okay, you two," Celeste said, "You know what, let's start with Orihime since she'd the one who looks like she just witnessed a murder. What happened exactly?"

"Well," she said, "Castiel called me and invited me over. He said he wanted to apologize so I came because I thought he would do something nice for me." She swallowed and Celeste continued gazing at her, expectantly. "And… well… he apologized and we agreed to drink on it…" It was clear that she didn't like it when people's eyes were directly on her. "I… um… he… we were supposed to have just one but he kept going… so I told him to stop and he wouldn't listen. He ended up calling all of his… f-friends. Then Maya came…"

Celeste lifted her gaze to Maya, who simply shrugged. "He started coming on to me again," she said, "So I stood my ground this time and slapped him and he spilled his drink on me so I came in here."

"I see," Celeste said, "So basically, Castiel is a screwed up guy and just needs someone to talk to."

"Wait…" Maya said slowly, "What?"

"People are drunks usually when they have something bothering them that they want to get away from," Celeste said, "So maybe that's why Castiel won't stop drinking. I'll go talk to him."

"Wait," Maya said, "I got in an argument with Nathaniel just now."

"Again?" Celeste said, "Why?"

"He keeps saying that I'm lying to him about not drinking tonight," she said, "So for the first time, I hung up on him without saying anything."

"He seems to be really insecure," Celeste said, "So he's just worried about you. I know it probably doesn't seem like it, but he's probably just afraid of something ruining the relationship."

Maya sighed but smiled, leaning against the wall behind her. "Celeste, it's times like these when I wonder if you should be dating him and not me," she said, chuckling, "You read him so easily but I have such a hard time with it, even though I'm always with him."

Celeste giggled, waving off the idea. "No, he's yours," she said, "He's too moody for me anyways." She past Maya to the door and opened it, stepping out and closing it behind her. Maya gazed at Orihime, who was sitting on her bed now, gazing down at the floor.

"What are you so worried about?" Maya said, "Celeste is like a miracle worker when it comes to this stuff. You don't have to worry, really."

Orihime shrugged. "I don't think he really wanted to apologize," she said slowly, "I think he just wanted to drink and was using me as an excuse." She began tearing up again. "I really like him but I don't think he likes me that much… not like he used to, at least."

"Well, we'll see about that," Maya said, "I mean Castiel isn't one to show his feelings too well, unless it's anger."

Orihime pouted, fidgeting a bit. It was quiet outside of the door. Were things going well? Maya sighed. She didn't want Orihime to get hurt; one broken heart in this room was enough. Why couldn't Castiel just give in?

Just as Maya was going to begin coming to random conclusions, the door opened. Celeste gestured Orihime to follow her, but Maya followed anyways. Celeste took Orihime's hand comfortingly as she stopped in front of Castiel, looking tired and dazed as he sat on the couch. He was still drunk but with the amount of drinks he had, he was just barely more than buzzed.

"Okay, Castiel," Celeste said, "Tell Orihime what you told me."

An alarmed look suddenly captured Castiel's face before his gaze fell to his lap. "No," he said.

"Castiel," Celeste said, giving him a kind smile, "If you two don't talk things out, your relationship will never mend."

Castiel sneered at Celeste before looking away. He was definitely hiding something.

"Castiel," Celeste said slowly, "You need to tell her."

When another few long moments went by with tense silence, Celeste sighed, opening her mouth to speak again when Orihime chimed in.

"Castiel," Orihime said, "I don't want to be in any kind of relationship with you. At first, I thought we were perfect together but… but now I know you're just a drunk and you're interested in my best friend and… I just don't want to be in the kind of relationship where you can do whatever you want, but I'm just the girlfriend who can't do anything to fix things but cry all day long. If you're not going to help in this; if you're going to expect Celeste to fix everything for us, you're not worth it."

She snatched her hand away from Celeste and hurried away back to Maya's bedroom. Celeste sighed, rubbing her forehead. "See, Castiel?" she said, "You should have told her when you had the chance."

Maya gazed at Castiel. His blue eyes were hazy and he was gazing at the door that Orihime had escaped to. He really did like her. Curiously, Maya leaned against the wall, watching as Celeste chased after Orihime. She returned virtually dragging her and this time she squeezed her hand so she couldn't escape.

"Do it now," Celeste said, "Say it."

Castiel sighed, gazing at his lap. "It's not like I meant to hurt you," he said, half-muttering his words, "I just… I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now. I like you, okay? I just can't right now."

Orihime struggled to pull her hand away from Celeste. "Orihime?" she said, "Say something."

"I… don't care," Orihime said, contradicting the tears welling in her eyes, "I don't want him anymore."

Castiel shifted in his seat before lying down. "Everybody either go home or get out," he muttered, "I'm going to sleep."

Orihime managed to pull away from Celeste and ran out the front door this time, slamming it behind her.

"Wait!" Celeste called but didn't chase after her when the door was closed. She sighed again. "Castiel, that's not what you told me," she said.

"I don't care," he said, "Leave now."

Maya took Celeste's wrist and pulled her into her bedroom, closing the door.

"Let's just let him fall asleep," Maya said, "So how did you know about the party?"

"Well I heard about it from like ten other people," she said, "But Orihime called me and told me to come."

"Oh well I'm glad she did," Maya said, "I would never have been able to sleep otherwise."

"I'm worried about her," Celeste said, "I hope she and Castiel work things out."

"Me too," Maya said.


	20. Twenty: Mistakes

Maya awoke with a throbbing headache and this time it wasn't a hangover. She turned her cell phone back on to find that she had no missed calls; meaning Nathaniel hadn't tried to reach her after she hung up on him. She clenched her jaw, taking her time to wash up and change her clothes. She ate slowly.

"You're going to be late," Castiel said, sneering playfully from across the table.

She just rolled her eyes. "You're a real jerk, you know that?" she said, "I thought you said you wouldn't be drinking anymore, let alone throwing wild parties in this apartment that has people living in the apartments on either side, above, and below it."

He scowled, looking away as he threw together a lazy breakfast of cereal and toast.

"Don't lecture me," he muttered, "I know it wasn't something I should have done, but Orihime offered me a drink yesterday."

"Yes," Maya said, "One. Not twenty."

"I didn't have twenty," he said, grimacing, "I barely even drank anything."

"Well, you were drunk enough to pull me on to your lap and ask me to sleep with you," she said, "You were drunk enough to spill your drink on me when I slapped you for it. See yesterday wasn't exactly a good day for me and you weren't making it any better by hitting on me."

At the angle he was from her, she could see the scars on his cheek from her nails. It was hidden by his hair, but she knew they were there.

"That doesn't mean anything," he muttered, "I don't want you like that. Plus even if I did, I would never take Nathaniel's leftovers. That's just disgusting."

Maya rolled her eyes again. "I'm trying to eat," she said, "Let's not talk about Nathaniel."

"Why?" Castiel said, bringing his breakfast to the table, sitting across from her, "Did mister president do something wrong again?"

"He did everything wrong!" she said, "He doesn't even trust me anymore. When I told him I wasn't drinking, he didn't believe me."

"So he's not as perfect as you thought, right?" he muttered, "I knew he wasn't. You should trust my judgment."

Maya laughed sarcastically. "I never thought he was perfect," she mumbled, "I thought he was the one. They're two different things."

"Whatever," he muttered, "You're probably going to end up getting back together with him today or tomorrow anyways."

"We'll see," she sighed, "It really just depends on how he acts today."

"He's like a fourteen-year-old girl," Castiel muttered, "Always too sensitive."

"Don't talk about him like that," she said quickly. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he said, getting to his feet, "Are you done yet? Because I'm leaving."

"Yeah," she said, putting her plate in the dishes, "Let's go."

Maya gazed at Nathaniel, writing something at a desk. Why was he always working? He never just let loose and had some fun. Sighing, she opened the student council room door slowly.

"I'm busy," he said bluntly.

"I don't care," Maya said, pulling the desk away from him and pushing everything off of it. She sat down on top of it and he gazed at his papers on the floor, a frustrated look on his face.

"You're going to pick those up," he said, his voice showing no emotion.

"Stop thinking about working and homework and money and school and class for five seconds of your life and listen to me," she said, "I wasn't lying to you yesterday."

"Yeah?" he said, "So how was it? Did your friend, Santa Clause, join you? Did you make a snowman come to life? How many spells did you cast?"

"Just shut up," she snapped, "What happened to yesterday? You were holding my hand, you kissed me more than once, and you joked around with me a lot; why did all of that suddenly disappear when you heard the word 'party'?"

"Parties like that are pointless," he said, "Just thinking about going to one makes me lose IQ points. And you broke your promise for a second time last night. How do I know that you weren't lying and actually did cheat on me?"

"I did not break my promise," she said, "I came home and the party was just going on. It's not like I planned it. I didn't even know about it."

"You know what else is pointless?" he said, "This argument. You can't prove to me that you're telling me the truth, especially since people saw you there. Why don't you just go home and drink some more with your little drunken friends? I don't care anymore."

Clenching her hands into fists, Maya scowled. "That's not funny," she said, "If you think this argument is pointless then clearly you're not willing to work this whole mess out. How can we build this relationship if there's no trust in it?"

"You're right; I don't want to work this out," he said, "I'm tired of all this arguing we do and I'm tired of not trusting you."

"What are you saying?" Maya said, jumping to her feet, "Are you saying you want to break up?"

"Yes," he said, "You're just one girl. You're not worth all of the tension and drama and worry."

Maya felt tears well in her eyes. Tears? Over a boy? She rubbed her eyes with her palms. Crying over a boy was intolerable; she knew that but she couldn't help it.

"But," she said, her voice coming out like a little girl as tears spilled out of her eyes uncontrollably, "what about our future? We're supposed to get jobs and find a place to live! We're supposed to get married and have children! You promised me."

"Well now you know what a broken promise feels like," he said insensitively.

A few quiet sobs escaped Maya's throat before she stomped towards him, pushing him roughly and slapping him in the face. "Okay, then fine," she said, her voice cracking due to her heavy crying, "We're officially broken up! You can go find someone else who's actually willing to deal with your mood swings and your moron of a sister! Good luck with that!" He glared at her and she left in a rage. She pushed past everybody, unable to stop the tears from spilling out of her eyes. Celeste, who was speaking to Castiel outside, grabbed her arm.

"What happened?" she asked. Although her voice was gentle and it was clear she cared, Maya was too upset to consider how she would feel if she jerked away from her.

"It's none of your damn business!" Maya exclaimed before running all the way back to Castiel's apartment. She curled up on her bed, burying her face in her arms. About ten minutes later, her door opened.

"What's your problem?" Castiel's voice was recognizable, "Just because mister president isn't the 'one' or whatever corny thing you called him this morning, that doesn't mean you should take it out on Celeste."

"Just leave me alone," she said, sobbing into her pillow.

"What did he do now?" he said.

"Nothing," she said, "Just nothing."

She heard him sigh and expected that he left but she felt her bed move; he was sitting next to her.

"That's not a very nice way to talk to the person letting you live with them," he said. She lifted her gaze. He was smirking at her. Was this a joke to him?

"It's not funny," she said, wiping her eyes.

His smile faded and he rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, "If you're not going to tell me, then, I'm gonna go walk Demon."

"Wait," she said slowly, "It was pretty simple… he broke up with me so I went off on him and left."

"Okay," he said, "I don't see why you're crying so hard then."

"The things he said," she said before a few sobs forced their way up, "I would've done anything for him… and the truth is I didn't mean half of the things I said."

"I told you in the beginning that he's not worth it," he said, "None of this stuff would've happened if you listened to me."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you know how in love with him I am?" she said, "Just saying something like that would never have gotten me away from him."

"Whatever," he said, sitting up on the edge of her bed, "I'm leaving now."

"Wait," she said quickly, throwing her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her face against his back. "Wait… don't go. Stay right here."

"Are you on drugs?" he said, "I'm going to walk a dog. It's not like I'm leaving the country."

"I don't care," she said, stifling a sob, "I don't want to be alone."

He didn't say anything. She felt light and dazed; almost like the time when she watched Nathaniel walk away from her.

After a few silent moments, she murmured, "Hey, Castiel?"

"Yeah?"

"Help me forget about Nathaniel," she murmured, sitting up against his back but keeping her arms wrapped around him. Once her lips were nearly brushing Castiel's ear, she said softly, "Help me erase his memory."

Without even a glance back, he said, "Are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"I need the thought of him out of my head," she murmured.

"No," he said, pulling away from her and getting to his feet, "I told you, I'm not into you like that."

"Please!" she said desperately, taking his hand, "Help me forget. I need to forget!"

"No," he said again, "You'll probably get back together with Nathaniel soon anyways."

"Castiel, I need you," she said, squeezing his hand, "I know you've already done so much for me already but just this once… Why do you act differently when you're drunk towards me if you don't really want to? They say that when you're drunk you say what you're really feeling."

He grimaced and pushed her back against the bed by her shoulders. "If I do it, will you promise to never mention that to anybody ever?"

"Yes! I promise!"

Without any consideration for Orihime or Nathaniel, Maya was only focused on enjoying this.

A week passed by like a snap of Maya's fingers. She knew she could never forget about Nathaniel, no matter what she did with any other guys or how many times she tried to forget. She'd only done anything else with Castiel, and it was only that night. She wasn't sure what she regretted more, convincing him to sleep with her or the fact that she did something Nathaniel could never find out about, even if they didn't get back together.

It was a school day morning. Maya rolled out of bed, lacking the energy to be up so early. She robed herself in a random pair of jeans and a band t-shirt. She ran a comb through her hair a few times before washing up. She had breakfast just in time to see Castiel just waking. She teased him for a while before leaving for school.

She felt as if she was separate; like everybody else was there but past a glass wall that Maya couldn't seem to push past. She definitely had a handful of friends that she absolutely needed, like Castiel and Celeste and Orihime and she'd even grown closer to Lysander. But it felt as if everybody else was pushing her closer and closer to her limit. Once she reached it, she wasn't sure where she would end up. She was sick of family, and bullies, and people who ignored her, and to top all of that she couldn't even manage to keep a boyfriend, no matter how in love she felt. Feeling in a daze, she walked as slow as possible towards her class. People were still mingling outside so it was clear that the bell wasn't going to ring any time soon. She may as well have waited for Castiel.

Maya gazed at the floor, not realizing where she was going until she bumped into someone. She lifted her gaze and gave an exasperated groan.

"Watch where you're going," Amber said, sneering at her.

"I'm not in the mood for you, Amber," Maya muttered, "Remember what happened last time I wasn't in the mood for you and you provoked me? You didn't go to school for a week, and for another two weeks you piled on makeup to hide the black eye."

Amber looked infuriated for a moment before falling back into her normal composure. She smirked a bit. "So, I heard that you and Nathaniel broke up," she said, "Looks like you won't be special treatment any time soon."

Maya rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything," she said, "Get to class, little girl. Nathaniel and I breaking up only makes me want to hit you even more."

"Go ahead," she said, "I'm sure he'll side with me this time and won't sugarcoat it to the principle."

Maya clenched her hand into a fist. "Oh," she growled, "If only we weren't in school right now, I would destroy you."

"Destroy me?" Amber laughed, "If we weren't in school, I would actually fight back! The only reason I didn't is so that Nathaniel would hate you even more."

Maya swallowed hard, looking away. She was right; Nathaniel had connections to the higher ups in school and if the principle asked him why Amber was bloody and bruised, this time around he wouldn't stick up for her. "Why are you so heartless?" she said quietly.

Amber laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" she said, "I don't like you."

Maya rolled her eyes again, pushing past Amber and bumping her shoulder roughly as she did so. She walked straight towards her class and slunk into a seat in the back. She just didn't have the energy today. Her classmate gradually began filling all of the empty seats. Orihime sat beside Maya but didn't say much.

"Alright, class," the teacher began, "Let's go back to where we left off yesterday…"

He was cut off by the door opening. Maya rolled her eyes when he entered. Of course he radiated a golden glow like usual and was completely confident as he mumbled something to the teacher.

"Well, my students," the teacher said, a bored expression on his face, "Looks like the student body president has an announcement to make."


	21. Twenty One: Empty Words

Maya sighed, setting her elbow on the desk and cupping her face in her palm. The girls in her class were giggling and whispering about how gorgeous he was, which didn't make her feel better. But it wasn't like they cared; the girls here only care about their objectives and completely put aside everybody else's feelings.

"Oh, I heard he's single now too!" one girl whispered.

"Yeah," another replied, "He and that one really ugly girl broke up."

Ugly?

"Shh," a third one hushed, "She's like a row away from us."

"Who cares?" the second one whispered, "Anyways, they dated for months. I'm glad they're done now, I totally want him. I come up with tons of excuses just to talk to him."

"It's pretty easy," the first girl said, "Just say you have to ask him something about the school or something. He'll talk a lot about something if you have a question, but I only do it as an excuse to look at his face."

"I'm really happy that he's single," the third one whispered, "He's too gorgeous for the girl he was dating; I think I reach the standard."

The other girls giggled and the teacher hushed them.

"Alright," Nathaniel said, just as soon as his gaze landed on her. He visibly swallowed before adverting his gaze, "I'm sure you all know that we, as seniors, are traditionally required to have a prom, and the information is finally ready to be official. The underclassmen are testing so the student council had me inform everybody about prom as opposed to saying it over the announcements. It's a bit more convenient this way. Prom is going to be exactly three weeks from now. It's obviously a formal occasion so girls, wear formal dresses, and guys wear your tuxedos. It will be from eight P.M. to eleven P.M. Please make sure you have a safe way to get back home because it will be dark by then and it will be almost curfew for those of you who aren't eighteen yet." He paused, his golden gaze scanning the students, avoiding Maya specifically. "Any questions?" he asked.

One of the three girls raised her hand and he called on her to ask. "Yes, um," she said, "Do _you_ have a prom date?"

Maya's jaw clenched tightly as she glared at the girl. Nathaniel blushed, looking away but smiled a bit. "No, not at the moment," he said slowly.

Maya rose her hand, sitting up straight. He looked a bit annoyed but concealed it so quickly she was sure that she was the only one who knew him well enough to catch it. "Is Amber going with a senior?" she asked.

He looked like he wanted to roll his eyes but he shook his head. "Not that I know of," he said.

"Oh, I see," she said, smirking, "Well I heard that she was going with the delinquent of our class. I also heard that she was getting involved with alcohol…"

He grimaced, this time not bothering to hide it. "Miss Ward, could you please not spread rumors about my sister?"

She shrugged, still smirking, "I'm not spreading rumors," she said, "I saw it myself. I'm very close with that delinquent, you know."

This time he actually did roll his eyes. "This is a very personal matter," he said, "I don't think it should be discussed so publicly."

"No, wait," Orihime chimed in, "I want to know more. Tell us more about what Amber is doing with the _delinquent_."

Maya couldn't help but laugh. It felt so good to be so mean to Nathaniel. "Amber is doing _everything_ with the delinquent," she said, grinning, "You know, in the room right next door to his, I can pretty much hear it all."

"That's enough, Miss Ward," said Nathaniel. He was genuinely infuriated now. "I'm not answering anymore questions," he said before walking out of the room without another word.

"Were you being serious?" Orihime asked in a whisper.

"Of course not," Maya answered, "Castiel isn't too fond of Amber if you didn't already notice."

"Maya," the teacher sighed, "Please don't anger our guests anymore, no matter who it is or what kind of grudges you hold against their sister."

The three girls were glaring at her and when she smirked at them, one of them scowled. "You know," she hissed, "It's not cool just to drive him away like that."

"It's not cool?" Maya said, chuckling, "I feel pretty cool about it. What about you, Orihime?"

"I feel great," she said, "I don't like Nathaniel."

The teacher, clearly having heard the entire conversation, approached them. He stood there, his arms crossed. "Maya," he said, "I think it's best if you go apologize to him."

"Apologize?" Maya said, "To Nathaniel? You've got to be kidding me. Why would I want to do that?"

"Because I said so," he said, "And I'll be asking him later whether or not you did it if you're going to use this as an excuse to ditch or something. I have my detention slips ready."

Maya rolled her eyes before pushing herself up to her feet. "Fine, whatever," she sighed.

"Wait," the teacher said as she hurried towards the door, "Take the hall pass."

"I don't need it," she said with a wave of her hand before stepping outside, closing the door. From where she was, she could see straight into the open door of the student council room. Nathaniel looked frustrated, gazing down at a desk with his hands balled into fists against it. She heard a mumble. Was he talking to himself? She crossed the hall, leaning against the wall just beside the door so she could listen unseen.

"I can't believe her," he muttered to himself, "Why is she acting like that to me? Did the love she said she had just disappear?" She heard him sigh. "I really messed up with her… I wish she knew how much I still love her…"

Maya closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths before hesitantly stepping into the doorway, giving a knock on the door beside her. Nathaniel looked up immediately, his face flushing red. Once he realized it was just her, he returned to his regular skin color and his facial expression disappeared.

"Do you need something?" he said, his voice returning to that business-like tone of voice that he had speaking to her class.

"Yeah," she said, "I… I was told to apologize… so I guess that's what I'm doing."

"Apologize?" he said, "For what?"

For what? He must really have a lot on his mind, to have already forgotten what went on in the classroom less than five minutes ago.

"Um," she said, chuckling, "The thing about Amber, maybe? Obviously you've been doing a lot of thinking."

He looked away, a shy look on his face. He didn't seem comfortable with the casual way she was talking to him. Did he want her to be angry with him?

"Well, I apologize, I guess," she said slowly, "I… I'm…" She felt her vision blur and she didn't have control of her body for a few moments. Before she knew it, she had her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, her cheek pressed against his chest. "Why am I like this?" she said, frustrating hot tears streaming down her face, "I've never even cried when my dad hit me before! But since I met you, it's been an easy thing. And I keep giving in to temptations and then I always feel so guilty about it, but Nathaniel, to be honest, I never meant to hurt you, ever! I just wanted to be with you."

"Stop," he said sternly, taking her shoulders and pushing her arms-length away from him. He roughly wiped the tears off of her face before meeting her gaze, a look of weakness suspending the glisten that normally settled in his eyes. "Stop talking like you're apologizing to me," he said, sternly.

"But Nathaniel," she insisted, "I know I'm not worth having someone like you, but I'm just so in love with you, I can't help but come back to you."

"Shh," he hushed, pressing a finger to her lips, "Stop." He took a deep, shaky breath, closing his eyes. "I'm the one that's sorry," he said, "I should've trusted you. Celeste told me what happened at the party. Gosh, I'm so stupid."

"No, you're not," she said, meeting his gaze, "You're smart. I don't ever want to hear you say something bad about yourself again."

He bit his lip delicately, his eyes softening as he traced her jaw to her chin, lifting her face. "Maya," he said quietly, "Can I… kiss you?"

Maya couldn't help but smile, drawing closer to him. "Why would you even ask?"

His lips felt like the inside of a flower and they tasted like strawberries; he must have eaten something fruity. She smiled at him when he parted his lips from hers. He was blushing as she took his hands.

"I'm so happy," she said, giggling.

"Yeah," he said, slowly. He looked uncomfortable again.

"Is… something wrong?" she asked. The bell rang, making him jump. Why was he being so touchy?

"Oh, um," he said quickly, pulling away from her and rushing over to a desk, "I… have a lot of work to do. Do you think you could come back later? Like… after school, maybe?"

"But what about lunch?" she said.

"I'm busy during lunch," he said without meeting her gaze, "Student council meeting."

"Oh," she said, "Okay, I guess. See you later." She left the room without another word. Why was he acting so strange?

After school, Maya had decided to spend some time with Celeste. She got the call for the waitress job at the restaurant she went to with Nathaniel and started work on Friday. She and Maya had just eaten dinner and were walking around town, thick winter coats on from the cold.

"I talked to Nathaniel today," Maya told her.

"Oh," Celeste said, "What happened? Are you guys friends now?"

"Friends?" Maya chuckled, "No, we're dating again."

Celeste looked a bit puzzled but nodded. "Oh," she said, "Well… that's good, I guess."

"Is something wrong?" Maya asked, "You know, Nathaniel was acting a little weird today too."

"Oh, no, it's nothing," Celeste said quickly, although it was clear as day that she was feigning her nonchalance, "I was just thinking of something. I hope you do well at your job."


	22. Twenty Two: The Baby

Graduation. Finally! Maya couldn't have been happier as she collected her diploma. Nathaniel was valedictorian, of course. She was proud of him but her mind was mostly devoured with thoughts of living with him. Her funds she'd been saving up from waitressing at the diner were nearly enough alone; Nathaniel hadn't been keeping her in-the-know about how much money he's been saving. Maya hasn't spent a penny of her salary on anything but her savings.

Maya, Castiel, Celeste, Lysander, and even Orihime had a little get-together celebration. They each took a little shot, excluding Maya who didn't want to break her promise, but that was all they took. It was just a celebratory shot; for good luck. Castiel made money off of the gigs he booked with Lysander, which made lots of unnecessary money since his parents still paid for his living expenses. Celeste has been interacting with art museums and the such and has made hundreds already just selling a single drawing. Orihime and Maya, herself, on the other hand were left with their teenager jobs, making little more than minimum wage for a living.

For the first time since they'd met, Orihime was going to take Maya to her house. She didn't want to for nameless reasons but Maya had managed to convince her. She lived in an average home, which was expected since most people living in this city lived averagely.

"Um," Orihime said slowly, "This is my living room… that's the dining room and over there on the left is the kitchen. The bedrooms are upstairs."

Maya nodded, following Orihime upstairs. She stopped when a woman with long blonde hair and narrow green eyes came into view at the top of the staircase.

"Oh, you're home," she said, cheerfully, "Who's your friend?"

"This is Maya," Orihime said.

"Hi!" Maya said, grinning.

"Oh, hello," the woman said, smiling kindly, "I'm Katie's mother."

"Mom, please don't call me that," Orihime said defensively.

"I'm sorry – Orihime," she said, correcting herself, "Well, Maya, make yourself at home here. If you're a friend of Orihime's, you're a friend of mine."

Maya nodded. "Thanks," she said, still grinning.

Orihime led Maya around her mother and down the hall to a bedroom with a twin-sized bed and a big window with a view of the street. The curtains were drawn so the sunlight hugged her skin like clothing.

"I like your mom," Maya said, "She seems really nice."

Orihime shrugged. "I guess," she said, "But she's not a good person."

"Why not?" Maya asked.

"Well… she makes money off of drug dealing," Orihime said, shrugging, "So does my dad."

"Wow," Maya said, "What if they both got caught? You'd be alone."

"I'm eighteen," Orihime said, "I don't care."

Maya giggled. "Oh well," she said, "Can we eat dinner? I'm feeling a bit hungry."

Orihime nodded. They were set up at the dinner table in moments. It was just macaroni and cheese for dinner but Maya didn't care; she was too hungry to care. She ate double as much as she normally did, which was a bit odd for her. Afterwards, Maya went home and fell asleep on the couch.

"Wake up, little girl!"

Maya's dreams were invaded by the sound of Castiel's voice. She pulled herself back to consciousness and awoke with a throbbing headache.

"What do you want?" she snapped at him.

He raised a brow. "PMSing?" he muttered, "Anyways, get out of here if you're going to sleep."

"No," she said stubbornly, "I fell asleep here so I'm going to stay here."

"Okay do you have like a blister or something? What's your problem?"

"You! Now leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep," she said.

His brow went up again. "Okay, fine, princess," he muttered, taking a seat on the couch beside the one she was on. She curled up again and watched the TV for a while before feeling a pang of sympathy. She didn't need to go off on Castiel; he hadn't done anything.

"Castiel?" she said softly.

"Yeah?" he said slowly.

"I'm sorry," she said.

After a long pause, he chuckled. "I swear, you're on drugs," he said, sighing.

"Wow, okay," she muttered, "I was just apologizing for being inconsiderate but I guess you prefer it that way."

He laughed. He seemed to be amused with her foul mood.

"If you're going to be a jerk, at least get me some food," she muttered, "I'm in the mood for Chinese."

"Fine, but I'm not paying for it," he said.

"You're such a gentleman," she muttered sarcastically, "Well I have my wallet. Come on, get to calling."

He glared at her, taking out his cell phone and calling a number. He mumbled into the phone and hung up a few minutes later.

"Ah, what's wrong with me?" Maya muttered, sitting up, "My head is killing me, and I can't stop eating. Maybe I'm hitting a two-year late growth spurt."

"I doubt it," Castiel said, "Maybe you're pregnant."

He said it so nonchalantly that he had to be joking. "That's not funny," she said, "Anyways, I'd be ashamed in myself if I got pregnant off of what I've gotten from Nathaniel lately. I think the last time I really had it good was with you…" She trailed off suddenly, gazing down at herself. "Castiel," she said quietly, "What if I _am_ pregnant?"

"Then I'm kicking you out," he said, "Not my baby, not my problem."

"No, think about it," she said, "Nathaniel hardly ever gives me anything good enough. You and I did it a few months ago. Isn't it a little probable…?"

"No, shut-up," he snapped, "Don't jinx it. I don't want any kids, ever. Whiney little brats…"

"Fine," she said, "But if I am pregnant, it's probably yours. I'm just saying." She caressed her belly. She's definitely been gaining weight lately, although nobody has said anything. She got to her feet, slipping her feet into a pair of slippers and rushing out the door. She jogged the whole way to the pharmacy nearby and bought a few pregnancy tests. She brought them home and used them, setting all three on the counter in the bathroom, adjacent to each other.

"This is ridiculous," Castiel muttered from outside the closed door, "You're not pregnant. That was four months ago. You'd probably be showing at least a little by now."

Weighing herself, Maya cringed. "And over the course of those four months, I've gained over ten pounds," she said, "Not to mention my cups are feeling tight."

"So don't eat so much," he said, "Then you won't gain weight so fast."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "One more minute," she said. The doorbell rang before Castiel could say anything in response. She listened as he approached the door, opened it and took the order. In the end, he ended up paying since she was still cooped up in the bathroom.

"It's been a minute," Castiel said once he returned to the door, "The food's going to get cold. Are you done talking nonsense or do you want to eat now?"

Maya stayed silent, gazing at the little plastic mechanic with the dark mini screen. She could distinguish two little lines. She fell into convulsions, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood. No… that couldn't be right. She glanced over the other two tests still lying on the counter. She stood there frozen for a few long moments, feeling numb. She was _pregnant_? Still biting her lip, she threw the test against the wall in a rage, so hard that it fell apart and hit the ground in pieces. She burst into tears, pounding the wall with her fist.

"Maya?" Castiel's voice reached her from outside. It was his child. That fact was inevitable. She knew that no matter what, she would never bring herself to get rid of the child. Adoption was always an option, but thinking about it terrified her. The main fault in the situation is that she didn't want Nathaniel to find out. Maya took hold of one of the tests and ambled into the living room again. Castiel followed closely behind her, attempting to read it. Once he began frustrated with her fidgeting, he snatched the test from her hands and read it himself. When he realized what it said, he dropped it to the floor. Right beside it, Maya's knees fell.

"Castiel," she murmured, tears streaming down her face, "Why? Why do things like this always happen to me?"

"Don't be selfish," he said, his words slurred as if he was drunk as he gazed at the floor, his eyes glazed over, "It's on both of us."

"What about Nathaniel?" she murmured, curling into a fetal position, "This isn't fair to him! We made a promise to each other."

Castiel suddenly snapped back to normal. "Nathaniel?" he said, "He doesn't have to find out. We need to keep this whole thing between us."

"How?" she said, sitting with her legs folded underneath her.

Castiel sighed, sitting down beside her. "I never wanted any kids," he said, "But I screwed up, so I guess I should take responsibility too. I'll take care of the… _baby_ a few times a week, I guess. Just tell Nathaniel that… we got really close living together and I want to be a part of the baby's life too. He's a softie so he'll probably be okay with it. Anyways, just convince everybody that it's Nathaniel's baby."

Sighing, she buried her face in her hands. "I just can't believe this is happening," she sighed, "What if, somehow, the baby comes out looking exactly like you?"

"Well then he'll be a pretty good looking kid," Castiel said.

She nudged him, frowning. "This is serious," she said sternly.

He rolled his eyes. "Nathaniel won't notice," he said, "He'll be too busy fawning over himself for giving a girl his seed; or at least thinking he did."

She rolled her eyes, glaring at him. "It could've easily been his," she said, "He's just much better at timing than you."

"But you admitted it, right?" he said, "You admitted that I'm better than him."

"Oh, shut-up," she muttered, getting to her feet, "I'm going to throw up and go back to bed. Save me some food."

"We'll see about that," he said.

Maya stood outside of Nathaniel's front door, taking a deep breath. Lying to him about drinking was one thing, but this was another completely. What if she did manage to lie to him about this and then one day in the distant future he figures out that it's not really his child? He would be crushed. She bit her lip as she knocked on the door. Not long after, the door opened. To Maya's dismay, it was Amber who answered it.

"What are you doing here?" Amber said, scowling.

"What do you think?" Maya said, "I'm here to see my boyfriend, maybe?"

Amber looked puzzled but then a look of realization came over her face and a smirk appeared on her mouth. "Oh, then come on in," she said, holding open the door, "He's in his room."

"Um, okay," Maya said, puzzled by Amber's sudden hospitality. She stepped inside before hurrying towards Nathaniel's room.

"Hurry up, Maya," Amber said, "You won't want to keep him waiting."

Maya took the doorknob to Nathaniel's bedroom and turned it. She opened it slowly. Was something supposed to be waiting in here?

"Oh… my… god…" Maya said slowly, virtually feeling her heart breaking.

There was Nathaniel, in a very promising position with… Melody? For one thing, Nathaniel wasn't one Maya expected to cheat but ever since January, he's been acting strange. Was this why? Has he been cheating on her for the past four months?

"Maya," Nathaniel gasped, sitting up, "It's… not what it looks like!"

"Oh isn't that original," she said sarcastically, "This was the last straw, Nathaniel. I could've dealt with all of your mood swings, but _nobody_ cheats on me. The only way I would-… wait, why does it matter anyways? Clearly you don't actually love me if you prefer giving your love to her anyways." Fighting back tears, Maya spat, "Good luck with him, Melody."

Maya hurried out of the room, towards the front door. She pushed past Amber and opened the door angrily. She felt someone take her arm and spin her around.

"Leave me alone, Nathaniel," she said, "Don't even try apologizing. Not only did you cheat on me, but you gave her the better half of it."

She attempted to pull her arm away but he squeezed it. "I don't love her more," he said, "I didn't mean to cheat on you, it's just that we started dating while you and I were broken up and I couldn't bring myself to break up with her after just one week."

"She should've expected it like everybody else," she said, gazing at the ground, "She's the only one who didn't expect us to get back together."

"I'm sorry, okay?" he said, "I can't live without you! Her, I can live without."

"Why would you make such a stupid mistake if you love me like you say you do?" she said, "I mean if it was a one-night stand over the course of our broken up period, things would be even then."

"Even?" he said, furrowing his brow, "What?"

"Yeah," she said, "I slept with someone else while we were broken up. But you can't even complain about that, it's not like I cheated on you for four months."

"Maya, wait," he said quickly when she managed to pull away from her.

"No," she said, descending his porch stairs, "Leave me alone, Nathaniel. I never want to see you again."


	23. Twenty Three: Conditions

Maya had her shirt lifted up to reveal her torso as she wrapped the measuring tape around her waist.

"Alright," she said, grinning, "As of today, I am officially an inch bigger than I was a couple of weeks ago."

"That's not the baby you know," Celeste said, sitting on the edge of Maya's bed, "That's just extra fat that you get during pregnancy."

"I know," Maya said, "But I'm going to do a measurement every other week to see how much bigger I get."

"I can't believe Nathaniel wasn't willing to try harder," she said, "I thought he would want to help you raise his kid."

"Well, actually," Maya admitted sheepishly, "I haven't told him about the baby, and I don't really plan on it. I mean even though we aren't together, Castiel is willing to help me out; you know, as a fill-in father figure."

"Oh, that's good," Celeste said, "Where is he now?"

"Working his butt off," Maya said, "He has two jobs now, so he quit his band with Lysander. He's trying really hard for me. I still have my waitress job too, plus all of my savings."

"That's really good," Celeste said, "But wait, are you just going to live here forever?"

"I don't know," Maya said, "There isn't enough room here for another person. Maybe while the baby is still really small, it'll be okay but later on I'm going to want to move into a bigger place. Castiel actually agrees with me on that."

"So you'll be raising it alone after that?"

"No," Maya said, "Castiel will be moving out with me. This is his parents' place; he can move out if he wants. It really all depends on how things work out, though. I mean if I get a boyfriend that actually cares about me, then maybe I can live with him instead."

"That's going to be hard," Celeste said, "Finding a boyfriend after having a baby."

Maya shrugged. "So, who cares?" she said, "If I really feel like I need a man to help me raise the baby, then I have Castiel. But for the most part, I think I'm okay. I have a lot of money saved up from working, and plus it's not too late to sign up for a community college or something. I can't go to the dance school I got accepted into, though."

"Oh, I see," Celeste said, "Well Nathaniel is a jerk."

"I already know that," Maya said, "That's old news."

"Well if you need any help," Celeste said, "I can help. I mean I haven't raised any babies, but I can try to help you. Plus I can loan you money whenever you need it. I just made another seven hundred off of a drawing, and my parents are rich too."

Maya giggled. "Thanks," she said, "But I've been mooching off of enough people. I don't want my kid to learn that it's okay to mooch off of people."

"Okay," Celeste said, "But if you need anything, I'll be here, okay?"

"Thanks," Maya said, "You're a good friend, Celeste."

"Yeah, I know," Celeste sighed, "But I wish I could go back in time and not keep Nathaniel's promise to keep it a secret."

Maya shrugged. "I don't really care about that," Maya said, "I mean even though you kept it from me, you were just keeping a promise, right? I don't mind it, really. At least you tried to tell me that I should be with him. I should've listened to you."

Maya and Celeste decided to go out to eat for the day. They approached the nearest restaurant and went inside, talking happily for once. She continued to smile as they ordered at the counter.

"Alright," Celeste said, "There are a lot of open spots. Where do you want to sit?"

"You choose," Maya said, "I don't care as long as it's a booth."

Celeste smiled, browsing. It seemed her gaze found something unpleasant but she took Maya's wrist and dragged her to a specific booth. She pushed Maya into the booth on a specific end and sat across from her.

"I like this spot," Celeste said.

"Um, okay," Maya said.

"So," Celeste said, "Do you have any names in mind for the baby?"

"Oh, I don't know," Maya said, "Before, I just always planned to see what names Nathaniel had in mind and then agreed or disagreed."

"Can I help?" Celeste said. Maya nodded. "Okay, what about Miki?"

Maya chuckled. "A normal name, please?" she said.

"I think it's pretty normal," Celeste said, "But I wonder what Nathaniel would name him or her."

Maya shrugged. "Whatever," she said, "He doesn't even know that it's his baby and I don't plan on telling him. He'd probably think it was Castiel's baby or something silly like that."

"Really?" Celeste said, "What do you think he would do if he found out?"

"I don't know," Maya said, "Since he's so moody, I would think that depends on his mood. So he'd either want to take responsibility or figure he's too good for it."

Celeste laughed. "Too good for it?" she said, "Come on, even Nathaniel wouldn't stoop that low."

Maya shrugged. "Whatever," she said, "Either way I'll do just fine without him."

"It's… mine?"

His voice startled Maya to her feet, but as soon as she recognized the voice, she knew immediately why Celeste was so eager to sit here.

Nathaniel stood up from the booth behind them, his eyes wide. "You're pregnant?" he said, "And you didn't tell me?"

"It would only make things complicated," she said, rolling her eyes, "I don't need your help anyways."

"You don't need my help?" he said, taking her by the shoulders, "Maya, if this is my baby too I want to help."

"Your help isn't necessary," she said, pulling away from him, "I already have all the help I need."

"But I want to," he said, "If it's mine, I'm just as responsible for it as you are."

"No," she said, returning to her seat, "Not after you cheated on me. The only thing you know responsibility for is work. You don't know a thing about love."

Nathaniel sighed. "Please, Maya," he said, "I never said we have to be together, but I'll never be able to live with myself knowing that I left a girl I messed up too badly with to care for my child. I want to help."

"No, leave me alone," she said, "Like I said, you don't know a thing about love. I wasn't talking about you and me. To properly raise a child, you have to love him or her, you know. And… I already love this baby… despite who the father is." She meant that; it wasn't a lie.

"I'm not going to mess this up," he said, "I have a job and everything. You won't have to lift a finger, Maya."

"Well I like lifting my fingers," she said, "Besides, Castiel is already working way more than he should be right now for me and the baby."

"Maya, maybe you should be reasonable," Celeste said, "I mean, he is half responsible for the baby."

Maya instantly regretted lying to Celeste about the baby. "Okay, you know what?" she said, "I don't want to talk about this. If you seriously want to help me raise this baby, then you're going to have to take this up with Castiel. He's working double as much as me for the baby and he's already filling in as a father figure."

"Castiel?" Nathaniel said, a look of disgust settling on his face, "I was hoping I never had to see him again after graduation…"

"Well, you don't have to," Maya said, "It's only if you're serious about this baby. If not, then you can just go back to your meal and forget about me and everything we've ever done together or said to each other."

"You know I can't do that," he said.

Maya shrugged. "You know where to find him," she said, returning to browsing her menu.

•••

Castiel sat at the desk in his bedroom, his elbow rested on it with his face in his palm. He was looking at a list of baby names on his computer. This wasn't something Maya asked him to do; he just felt obliged to. And he was unexpectedly excited for the baby. The thought of having something in the world that he absolutely needed to be responsible for made him feel… wanted. Like there was someone in the world who wanted him around. As if sensing Castiel's sudden rush of emotions, Demon barked up at him. Castiel patted his head affectionately and Demon sat on the ground, watching him.

Maya would be going to get checked for whether it was a boy or girl in a week. So for now, he could just browse both girl and boy names until something caught his eye. He sighed, feeling a bit bored. He was impatient, waiting for something he liked.

When Demon jumped to his feet and ran to the door, barking, Castiel knew there was someone there before he heard the knock. He sighed again, getting to his feet and approaching the door. He pulled it open and felt shocked somewhat. He hid the feeling well, leaning against the doorframe and chuckling.

"Well, well, well," he said, "I never thought I'd be meeting you here at my front door, mister president."

Nathaniel looked away, clearly irritated already. "I didn't want to come here," he said, "Maya asked me to."

"Okay," he said, "What did she forget this time?"

"No," he said, "Not that. She wants me to talk to you."

"Why did she send you if she needed to tell me something?" he sighed.

"You're still not getting it," Nathaniel sighed, holding his forehead in frustration, "I meant that she told me to talk to you about the baby, which is weird since it's not yours."

Castiel couldn't hide his smirk. "Oh, I see," he said, "What did she want you to talk about with me?"

"I want to take some responsibility for the baby," he said, "She told me to talk to you about it."

"Why me?" Castiel sighed, rolling his eyes. "Okay, look. How about this? You take Maya, find a nice place for the both of you to live, with enough room for a third. And I do mean a _nice_ place to live. Find a job or keep the one you have if it pays well, so that Maya doesn't have to work anymore. I know she won't like that, but it's better for her while she's carrying."

"Why do you care so much about Maya and the baby?" Nathaniel asked suddenly, interrupting Castiel's circumstances.

Castiel glared at him. "She and I are close," he said.

"You're not… dating, are you?" Nathaniel asked.

"Don't be stupid," Castiel said.

He looked relieved. "Since you guys are close," he said slowly, an uncomfortable look settling on his face, "Do you think you could tell me a good way to… win her over again?"

Castiel looked away. Nathaniel must really be desperate to ask him about this. "I don't know," Castiel said with a wave of his hand, "A ring or something. I don't know her like _that_. All I know is that she hates you right now."

He sighed. "Okay," he said, "Thanks."

Castiel closed the door instead of responding to him. He turned to see Demon, his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging. He barked playfully at him. Castiel smiled and kneeled down beside him.

"Do you want a walk?" he asked. Demon licked his face in response and Castiel chuckled, getting to his feet and taking the leash.


	24. Twenty Four: Mixed Emotions

Maya felt dizzy. She had been exercising to keep from getting too big, and to stay healthy. She'd also been eating healthier for the baby. Castiel persistently tried to talk her into quitting her job but she kept refusing. She didn't want to rely on someone else for her own affairs. She allowed him to help save money for the baby but she wouldn't let him buy her things besides food.

She laid on her bed after drinking ever drop of water left in her water bottle. She gazed down at herself. It's a girl. She smiled, caressing her overgrown belly. It seemed that Castiel was just as excited for her as she was. She sat up, glancing at the clock. Speaking of Castiel, he should be home soon. As if on cue, there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she said. The door opened slowly and Castiel peered in. She couldn't help but notice that the roots of his hair were very noticeably black and she giggled. "You need to re-dye your hair," she said.

He shrugged, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He sat on the edge of her bed beside her, gazing at her belly. "I don't plan to re-dye it," he said, "I'm letting it go back. And I plan on getting a haircut too."

Maya smiled. "Yeah, get a manlier cut," she said, playfully. He rolled his eyes.

"I went shopping during my break," he said, "I got her clothes."

"Aw," Maya said, noticing the bag in his hand, "Can I see what you got?"

He nodded, handing her the bag. She reached in and pulled out the first thing she grabbed. It was a little sun dress that was inevitably cute. It was for one to two year olds, which worked since the baby would be born in fall so the baby could wear it in the summer after. She smiled, setting it down on the bed and taking out the next thing she grabbed. She couldn't help but giggle when she saw it. It was a furry little robe for babies and toddlers and it had matching little slippers. She set that down as well and reached in again. It was the last thing in the bag. It was an adorable floral pair of footsie pajamas for newborns. It had a silky texture. She smiled, gathering all three clothing articles and returning them to the bag.

"They're so cute," she said, "You have great taste."

"Actually, Celeste helped me pick them out," he said.

She giggled. "Of course," she said.

He lifted his hand and gently touched her belly, caressing it humanely. "You know," he said, "I don't think I've ever been so excited to see someone before in my life."

Maya felt her heart warm at his words. Maybe somewhere, deep down, she always knew that Castiel would be sweet and caring somewhere in his heart. He rested his elbow on the bed on the side of her opposite him, leaning forward and resting his cheek against her belly. She smiled delicately laying her hand on his head, stroking his hair. He closed his eyes for a few moments. It was silent but there was so much emotion in the room that Maya's heart was pounding. His eyes opened suddenly and he gazed up at her.

"I felt a kick," he said.

She giggled. "Yeah, she kicks a lot," she said softly.

"That's so…" he paused, as if searching for a word to describe it, "…cute."

She smiled, still stroking his hair. They stayed silent for a few long moments. Maya mentally recorded this; she wanted to remember the look on his face for the rest of her life. They only sat up when they heard a knock on the front door.

"I'll get it," Maya said, getting to her feet, "You can get some rest. You look exhausted."

She approached the door as Demon barked at the door protectively. "Shh," she hushed him before opening the door. It was Nathaniel. She sighed.

"Do you need something?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, taking her hand, "I have something I want to show you."

"What is it?" she asked.

"You'll see," he said, "And I did talk to Castiel if he didn't tell you already."

"Okay," she said, "But what are we doing? Should I change?"

"If you want to," he said, "But don't dress up too much, okay? And make sure you don't wear heals."

Puzzled, she nodded. She changed hurriedly, eager to see what he had planned. She put on a pair of calf-length leggings and a maternity blouse that was sleeveless and tied around her neck and slipped her feet into flats. She combed her hair, but just a bit. It was only then did she realize that Castiel had fallen asleep in her bedroom. She smiled, rolling her eyes but pulling her blanket over his shoulders. She returned to Nathaniel and he led her downstairs and outside, to a shiny silver car.

"You got a car?" she asked him, "How could you afford this?"

"I've been doing a lot of work," he said.

"Oh, I see," she said, climbing into the passenger's seat. He sat in the driver's seat, starting the car. "Will you tell me where we're going now?"

"No, not yet," he said, a smile on his face as he glanced at her. She caught the relieved look in his eyes.

"Why are you so happy?" she asked.

"Because," he said, "I wasn't sure if you would agree to come with me or not." He began driving off, his happy expression melting into a sad one. "You have no idea…" he said slowly, "how much I _hate_ myself over what I did. I can't believe I even considered doing anything with anybody else besides you. You were and still are the reason why I even try; you push me without even knowing it."

"Are you doing all of this just to be responsible for the baby?" she asked.

"What?" he said, defensively, glancing at her with his brow furrowed, "No! I wasn't even thinking about that."

"Then what were you thinking about?" she asked.

"You," he said, "That's all I ever think about; you."

She sighed, leaning her head against the window beside her. "You know, Nathan," she said softly, "I still love you… a lot. It's just that… there's no trust in our relationship. You always think I'm out drinking and lying to you about it, and I don't know if I'll ever think you're just working overtime if you come home a little late after what I saw you doing with Melody."

"We can fix that," he said, quickly, "I'll always be on time. I'll even be early when I can! And now that you're carrying, I know that you won't drink anymore."

"Still," she said, "You could be lying. All of those times when you told me that you had student council meetings or something to keep you busy… I feel so stupid for believing you." She turned to gaze at him. "I just don't like that feeling," she said, quietly, "And I don't want to get hurt anymore, Nathaniel… you had the tendency to do that to me."

"I want to change everything," he said, "I want to erase everything that we had before and start over. I just love you too much to let you go."

"I want you to prove it to me," she said, "I want you to show me if you really love me. Otherwise I don't think I can ever trust you again."

Nathaniel cringed at the thought, keeping his gaze fixed ahead of him at the road. "I'm trying really hard," he said, "I don't know if you'll have fun tonight… but if not, I can think of a lot of other things to do for you to make up for it."

"What happened to Melody?" Maya asked.

"Oh," he said, blushing a bit; clearly talking about the other girl in front of Maya was uncomfortable for him, "We broke up, I guess. I haven't even seen her since that day."

"Yeah?" she said, "I would guess so. Melody is too good of a person to let a two-timer take over her life."

He sighed. "I'm such a mess," he muttered, "I guess I just got so caught up in the feeling of being in love that I wanted more of it. I never loved Melody. Actually, whenever we were just talking or on a date or something, I felt uncomfortable. It turned into like a mission or something; to fall in love with her. I knew it was wrong… I just didn't know why it wasn't happening. I didn't know why I didn't want to try my hardest at it, either. I just wanted it to happen. It never did." He touched Maya's hand holding on to the armrest in between the two chairs. "I know why now that I couldn't do it," he said, "I'm just too in love with you. I devoted all my time to her that I just started ignoring that fact. I can't get enough of you, though, Maya. Your words hurt me the day we argued back in the student council room. I was afraid of that happening again, so I tried to fall in love with someone else. I couldn't do it. I'm used to just jumping from girl to girl. Before I met you, I just dated whoever asked me. I never really liked any of them too much. They were all the same; the way they dressed, the way they talked, and the way they acted. It bothered me. That's why you caught my eye when I met you."

"Your words are sweet," Maya said slowly, "But… I feel like they're empty."

He squeezed her hand. "I wish I could take it back more than anything," he murmured, "Believe me, if I had just one wish, it would be to go back in time and change what I did."

"I see," Maya said, "If I had one wish, I would wish to have lots money without doing anything. I hate mooching off of Castiel so much, but he's so willing to do it." She gazed up at the night sky. The stars danced and the crescent moon glimmered against the nearly black sky.

"I can make that happen," he said quickly, "Well… I kind of spend all the money I was saving for an apartment. I bought this car to make things convenient and I… well you'll see what else I got. But I still make a good amount of money at my job so I can definitely provide for you."

"But then I'll feel obliged to be your little housewife," she said, "Like the day we met, at your house. Because you took care of me, I felt obliged to cook for you. The only reason I don't do that for Castiel is because I'm still working."

"I want you to stop working," he said, "You don't have to do anything for me. In fact, I'll cook and clean for you. I'm not the best cook, but I'll try."

"No, stop," she said, "I already know I would never allow that to happen. Then you'd be the husband and wife and I'd be like the kid."

"I just want to make you happy," he sighed, "I don't know what to do. You have to stop working, Maya."

"Why?" she said, "Even though I'm broke and pregnant, I still want the slither of independence I have left. At least the guys there stopped hitting on me when I started showing."

"You don't understand," he said, "You _have_ to stop working."

"But why?" she said, "You're starting to sound like Castiel. Wait… did Castiel put you up to this when you talked to him?"

Nathaniel blushed. "Yeah," he said, sheepishly, "It was one of his 'conditions' to let me have some responsibility for the baby."

"He gave you conditions?" Maya said, "What did he say?"

"Well," he said, "I have to find somewhere to live. He emphasized the word _'nice'_. He told me to be a good provider and he said to convince you to quit your job."

She rolled her eyes. "I should've known that he would've given you conditions," she said, "He just cares too much." She wished she could tell him the truth – that the baby was actually Castiel's, but she knew that things wouldn't go well. Nobody could know about that and Castiel agreed with her. He didn't want to ruin things with Orihime even more than he already did. In fact he was planning to fix them. She gazed up at Nathaniel. He looked nervous and his face was pale. More secrets? "Why do you have that look on your face?" she asked.

"What look?" he asked.

"You look a little anxious," she said, "Are you keeping things from me again? That's not going to make me like you."

"No," he said, "It's just… I really want to win you over again. I'm nervous because I don't know if you'll like it or not."

"Well, we'll see," she said.

"We're almost there," he said, a small smile on his face. He still held her hand over the armrest. She gazed out the window before coming to a realization; they were going to the beach.

"The beach?" she said, "Why here? It closes at a certain time and I'm in no mood to run."

"Relax," he chuckled, "I paid some security guards to avoid one section of the beach."

"You paid them?" she said, "For… me?"

"Yeah," he said softly, pulling into a parking spot. He hopped out and hurried to the other side of the car to help her out as well. He locked it and led her to a corner of the beach next to a wall made of sediment and in perfect view of the moon. Her gaze found a picnic basket on a blanket beside a stereo. His hand in hers, he led her to it and sat down, patting the spot beside him. She sat down and he pulled her close. "I still want to keep that promise," he said, "About living together."

"Hm," she said, "Let me see what you brought to eat." He blushed as he opened the picnic basket. "Like I said, I'm not the best cook. But I know the cake will be good. I convinced Amber to make it for me. She didn't know it was for you though so you don't have to worry about something being in it or something."

Maya smiled. "As long as you're sure," she said, "Is Amber a good cook?"

He nodded. "She was always helping my mom with cooking when she was younger," he said, "Plus she took classes as her electives. So she got really good at it."

"Oh, that's nice," Maya said, watching him as he reached in to the basket and began taking out saran wrapped sandwiches and juice pouches. Maya giggled. "Is this supposed to be a romantic dinner or an elementary school lunch?"

He shook his head. "This isn't all," he said, "Think of this as an appetizer."

"Okay," she said skeptically as he handed her the sandwich and her juice. She began to nibble on it when the taste of it took over her mouth. "Wow," she said, "What's in this? This is a pretty good sandwich."

He smiled. "It's a secret," he said.

She finished it off within three minutes and, although if she wasn't pregnant that would have filled her up, she was still hungry. She had done little more than sip her juice pouch though. She waited as Nathaniel finished his, fighting the temptation to take it from him.

"Okay," he said, reaching in the basket. He took out a closed container with scalped potatoes in it and set it on the blanket.

"You made this?" she asked. He nodded, still digging in the basket. He took out a container filled with coleslaw and then he took out a larger container filled with chicken Alfredo and set it down.

"I hope you like it," he said nervously, "I'm not the best cook, and you always ordered the chicken Alfredo whenever we went out to a place that served it, so I just made you some."

"Did you buy it frozen?" she asked, "Or did you make it from scratch?"

"From scratch," he said proudly, "Amber helped me a little. She really likes to cook." He paused, gazing at the unopened containers. "You can eat whatever you want," he said.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'm not really that hungry," he said.

She smiled, opening up the center container and taking a bite. "Oh, this is really good," she said.

"Really?" he said, "Thanks."

She ate what she could until she was full and he closed all the containers again and returned them to the basket.

"What now?" she asked.

"If you can," he said, "We could eat dessert."

"The cake?" she said, smiling, "You know, I want to but I'm really full."

"That's okay," he said, "You can take it. I don't want it."

"The whole thing?" she said, "I'll feel a little guilty taking that all for myself."

He shrugged. "You're feeding the baby too," he said, "And you can give some to Castiel, if you want, or whoever else you want to give it to."

"Well if you insist, I will," she said quietly, "What now?"

He smiled, reaching into the basket. He took out a little box. It was for a ring. He opened it. It was a set of two.

"Promise rings," he said softly, "Yes, they're real. I got them from a real jewelers'. Fourteen karats each."

"Those must have been expensive," she said. Gazing at them, she knew she would love it even if they were fake; they were too beautiful to pass up. He took her left hand and put it on the ring finger, like an engagement ring. "People are going to think we're engaged," she said.

"I know," he responded, "But listen for a minute. I want to make you happy; as happy as you can get. I will find a place to live for the three of us. I'm already looking at places to live, I just need to save up money." He met her gaze. In the moonlight, his eyes looked so beautiful. The reflection of the stars was dancing in them. He had a determined look in them as well. "These are promise rings because… well I want to make a promise with you," he said, "I promise I will never, ever hurt you again. I'm going to make you and the baby as happy as possible."

Maya smiled, gazing at the ring on her finger. It fit nicely, but she knew it wouldn't for long due to her pregnancy; her fingers would get thicker. She liked it though. The ring was not only beautiful; the amount of love and determination for her that Nathaniel was proving to have was beautiful as well. She tugged the other ring out of the box. She put it on his finger as well and he smiled at her.

"So… you'll take me back?" he asked.

"On one condition," she said, grinning at him.

"What is it?" he asked, "I'll do anything!"

"I want to let Castiel take the baby a few times a week," she said, "He has a lot of good personality traits that I want to rub off on her. Plus he's just as excited as I am."

"Castiel?" Nathaniel said before swallowing hard, "Like I said, I'll do anything."


	25. Twenty Five: Crazy

It was the next morning. Maya awoke on the couch, since she didn't want to bother Castiel who was fast asleep on her bed. He must've been exhausted because he slept straight through the night; a whole twelve hours of sleep. She sat up, gazing around. She heard the shower running in the bathroom as she approached the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. After she put together a breakfast, she ate slowly, gazing at the table. She hardly noticed when Castiel was looking for a breakfast as well.

"Is that a ring?" he said, snapping her back to reality, "Did you guys get engaged last night?"

"No," she said, "It's a promise ring."

"Oh," he said, "So you two are back together then?"

"Yeah," she said, slowly, "But don't worry, I told him that after the baby is born, we would let you take care of it like every other day. He still doesn't know it's yours though."

"Okay," he said, sitting across from her at the table. He ate silently, avoiding her gaze.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No," he said bluntly.

"I know there is," she said, reaching across the table and nudging him, "Come on! Tell me. What happened?"

He shook his head. "No," he said, "Nothing happened. I just slept too much, I think."

Maya gazed at him skeptically but didn't press him any further. She finished up her breakfast and put it in the dishes in the sink. As she turned, Castiel snatched up her hand suddenly, gazing closely at the ring.

"Is it real?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "He told me it's a fourteen karat."

"Only fourteen?" he said, "He could've gone a little higher."

"I think it's fine," she said defensively, "It's a beautiful ring. And he spent all his money."

"On what?" he chuckled, "His male prostitute friends?"

"That's not funny," she said, snatching her hand away, "What's your problem? He agreed to letting you take care of the baby even though he thinks it's his and he hates you just as much as you hate him. Why are you being so rude?"

"Yeah," Castiel said, "But at the same time, I'm letting him take care of the baby even though I know it's not his."

"That's not for sure," she said, "We'll do a DNA test once the baby is born."

"You said it yourself," he said, "Nathaniel wasn't doing it right. And the doctor said you're five months in now. I don't think that's a coincidence."

"Yeah," she said, "Five months ago when I was still sleeping with Nathaniel, he was doing it just fine."

"No," he said sternly, "No, stop thinking of excuses. This baby is mine."

"I thought you didn't want kids," she said, "Remember what you said when we first found out? You said that they were just whiney little brats."

He looked away. "I changed my mind," he said.

She sighed. "Look," she said, "I'll do a DNA test, but only after the baby is born."

"I don't want to wait three months," he said.

"You have to," she snapped, "I'm not risking anything by taking the DNA test while I'm still pregnant."

He sighed. "Maya," he said quietly, "If I tell you something… will you promise not to tell anybody?"

She gazed him, glad to see the side of him that wasn't always sarcastic and stingy. He only showed it occasionally but she knew she was the only person who saw it as often as she did. She nodded once. "I promise."

"I didn't want the baby at first," he said, "But eventually, I grew on the idea. Now I can't let go of it. I already love her and I'm afraid that if you live with Nathaniel, you and I will drift apart and I won't get to see her as often."

"I won't let that happen," she said, "Just because I'll be living with Nathaniel, it doesn't mean I won't still come and see you a lot. We won't drift apart and you'll see her every day and she'll spend the night every other day. The same goes for me."

"I want to hear you promise me," he said.

"I promise," she said.

"And if you break that promise and there's even just one day where I don't see her," he said, "If you don't have a good excuse, I get to keep her for a week."

"A week?" she said.

He smirked. "Yeah," he said, "It's punishment. You can still come visit."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said, "Then the same goes for you; if I don't see her every day then I keep her for a week."

"Deal," he said. Maya ran her fingers through her hair, turning away.

"I don't see how we could ever drift apart," she said, honestly, "I mean I love Celeste and Orihime but you're definitely my best friend."

He didn't respond as he turned away and approached the front door. He went back to looking like he was in a bad mood as he opened the door.

"I'm leaving now," he said.

"I couldn't tell," she said sarcastically before smiling, "Have a good day at work."

He glanced back at her as if he wasn't expecting her to say something like that but left quickly without another word. Sighing, she did the dishes and took her bag, following him outside. He seemed to have already left, since he was nowhere in sight. But the first thing that caught her eye was the familiar shiny car. She grinned, climbing into the passenger's seat.

"What are you doing here?" she said, smiling.

"I got up a little earlier," he said, "So I decided to come here."

"Okay," she said, "Well you know where the restaurant is. I wish we could just hang out today but I have work."

"When do you get off?" he asked.

"Five or six," she asked, "Depending on how many other waitresses are there."

"What time does Castiel get off?"

"Around ten," she said, "We'll have plenty of time if you want to come over."

"Good," he said, beginning to drive, "I'll pick you up then."

She smiled. "How did you sleep?" she asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"I slept great," he said, smiling, "I haven't slept so well since January."

Giggling, she took his hand on the armrest. "That's good," she said softly.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked her.

"A little," she said, "I slept on the couch though, so I had some trouble."

"Why did you sleep on the couch?" he asked.

"Castiel fell asleep on my bed," she said, "I didn't want to wake him."

Nathaniel grimaced. "You let him sleep in your bed?"

"Yes," she said, squeezing his hand as she gave him a slight glare, "I see nothing wrong with that."

He sighed. "You're right," he said, submissively, "I'm sorry." She knew that wasn't really what he was thinking but at least he was trying.

"Anyways," she said, "My only other option was to sleep in his bed, and I didn't want to invade his privacy so I didn't."

"But you let him invade your privacy," Nathaniel said slowly.

"Well I don't have anything I'm hiding from him in there," she said, "Plus he's always in there anyway. I don't think I've even ever seen the inside of his room before."

Nathaniel sighed. "Okay," he said. The rest of the car ride was quiet. It was clear that he was afraid to say something that would cause tension. She squeezed his hand. She didn't want him to be nervous; all she wanted was for him to be the same person he was a few months ago.

"Nathan," she said smiling, "I forgot to tell you. I think you'll be happy to know I haven't drunk anything since January. I didn't even drink the good luck shot after graduation."

He smiled, happily. "Good," he said softly, squeezing her hand, "I'm glad. Even a little bit of alcohol would be dangerous to the baby."

"I know," she said, "I did it to keep your promise. I'm glad I did."

"Me too," he said softly, regret clouding his eyes. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Let's not dwell in the past though," she said softly, "We're here now. Let's just enjoy that."

He kissed her forehead at the light before turning into the parking lot for the restaurant. She sat up, gazing at him. He kissed her tenderly and she felt her heart race. When was the last time he kissed her like this? She felt as if someone she loved dearly had passed and now they returned to her. She clenched two handfuls of his shirt collar in her hands, putting every ounce of passion she had into the kiss. He returned it generously, touching her waist. A knock on the window beside her made her job. She lifted her gaze to see her manager. She smiled sheepishly, waving to Nathaniel before hopping out of the car.

"You're late," she said, handing her a tray, "While you were out here smooching with your boyfriend, we've been trying to survive the lunch rush."

"Sorry," she said, sheepishly.

"Just get going," the manager, Kat, said.

Maya nodded, hurrying off.

Castiel sat in his car, his hands firmly clenching the wheel. He was at an angle in the parking lot where he could see them, but they couldn't see him. What were they talking about? Clenching his jaw, his gaze fell to his lap. Why did he feel so possessive over her? She was nothing to him but a friend. A friend that was carrying his child. She's the only one who knew him as well as she did. He held the wheel tighter, watching as she took Nathaniel's hand. When they began driving away, he sighed deeply, leaning forward and folding his arms over the top of the wheel. He buried his face in the center of them, sneering. He hated that Nathaniel was taking the only person who understood him away. He also loathed that he could do nothing about it but watch. He clenched his hand into a fist and punched the dashboard.

"Damn," he muttered.

Not only was he taking away Maya, but he was taking away his child as well. What was this feeling? He took a deep breath.

"I need to calm down," he whispered to himself, "I need… someone. I need… I need… Orihime."

He took another deep breath, sitting up and tapping his fingers against the wheel. He hadn't had a good conversation with Orihime since before the last time he was drunk. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number, pressing the phone to his ear.

Once he heard an answer, he said, "Hey, I'm going to be a little late today. My dog got sick and I have to take him to the vet."

The irritated sigh that came through the phone made him clench his jaw before he heard, "Alright, Castiel, I'll allow it this time. Just try to get in as soon as you can."

"Yeah," Castiel said before hanging up his phone. He tossed it in the back seat before speeding off in the direction to Orihime's house. He stopped at the pet store on the way there, picking up a puppy. He recalled Orihime saying she didn't have any pets, so he thought it could be considerate if he did. She was still angry with him and he wanted to make it up to her. It was a cute one at that.

He drove to Orihime's house, tucking the puppy in his shirt and knocking on the door. It opened after a while and for the first time, he saw her mother.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, "I take it you're here to see Orihime, right?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Okay," she said, "She's up in her room. I'm her mom."

"I'm Castiel," he mumbled as he brushed past her. His gaze found the staircase and he ascended them. All the doors were open except one, which he guessed was hers. He gave a light knock.

"I'm busy," she said in response. He smirked; she must be thinking it's her parents. He cracked open the door and could see her on her laptop in her bed. She had glasses on. And the last time he saw her, she had a different hair color. It was burgundy now, a deep red at the roots but fading into a dark brown as it approached her ends. He knocked again. "Go away," she said.

"What if I don't want to?" he said.

She looked up at the door. "Castiel?" she said.

He opened it slowly and came inside, closing it behind him.

"Why are you here?" she asked, "And what are you hiding in your shirt?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, "I'm… sorry. I just wanted you to know that I stopped drinking so much. I couldn't stand what I did to you so I stopped."

"Did someone put you up to this?" she asked defensively, "And is that like a gun? Or, let me guess, a make-up bottle of wine?"

"No," he said, grimacing as he took his hand out of his jacket, "It's a puppy. I just adopted him for you. And I came here on my own."

She approached him slowly, like an abused animal, and reached up, carefully ruffling the puppy's fur. He licked her hand in response. "Aw," she said softly, "He's so cute."

He nodded, setting the puppy down on her bed. "What do you say?" he said, "Do you forgive me?"

She crossed her arms, giving him a skeptical look. "Not yet," she said.

He sighed. "Girls are way too complicated. Okay, how much money do I have to spend?"

"You don't have to spend any," she said, "I just want you to give me a reason to forgive you."

"I don't know," he muttered, sitting on her bed beside her, "Look, I miss you, okay? I'm not good at this kind of thing. I… I just needed time to think."

"Why?" she asked.

"I guess I just have a hard time letting people in," he said, gazing at his hands in his lap.

"But you did for Maya," she said, "When we were together, you treated Maya more like she was your almost-girlfriend."

"I didn't mean to do that," he said, "And she's just my friend."

"Why do you have that look on your face?" she said.

"What look?" he said defensively.

"When you said that, just now," she said, "Do you _like_ Maya? Does it make you unhappy that you two are just friends?"

"No!" he said, holding his hands up, "Of course not!" He bit back all of the smart remarks he could return what she said with.

"Are you sure?" she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes," he said, slowly, "You're the only one I want."

The puppy barked, it's tone quiet and high-pitched. Orihime smiled, petting him playfully and he wagged his tail.

"He's so cute," she said, "Aw… I couldn't stay mad at you." She crawled towards him, putting her hands over his in his lap as she reached up and kissed him.


	26. Twenty Six: Happy

Maya sat with Nathaniel in the living room of Castiel's apartment, holding him tightly. Since Nathaniel wasn't a fan of dogs, she got Demon to fall asleep on Castiel's bed so that Nathaniel wasn't uncomfortable.

"This feels weird," he said, "I mean I'm in his house…"

"Don't think of it like that," she said, "I live here too. Think of it as 'I'm in Maya's house'."

He sighed, resting his head on hers. He didn't want to make things complicated; he was trying to make them easier. She held his hand tightly.

"Don't let him ruin tonight," she said, "It's about me and you now. He's not even here to ruin it and he's bringing you down anyways."

Nathaniel shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he said, "I just meant it's weird, it's not bothering me."

"Good," she said softly.

The door opened unexpectedly before Nathaniel could respond. Castiel stepped in an exhausted look on his face.

"Oh," she said, "Castiel… I wasn't expecting you home so early."

Castiel gazed from Maya to Nathaniel and back again before approaching the kitchen. "Where's Demon?" he asked.

"I put him to sleep in your room," she said, "Nathaniel doesn't like dogs so…" She trailed off, watching as he opened the door to his bedroom and patted his lap, calling Demon's name until Demon hurried towards him, his tail wagging. Nathaniel shifted uncomfortably beside her as Castiel let Demon roam free, closing his bedroom door. He went into the kitchen and loudly threw together a dinner. He sat at the open couch, putting up his feet on the coffee table and ate there.

"Um," Nathaniel said quietly to her, "Maybe I should leave."

"No, stay," Maya said, "Just ignore him, okay?"

"Shh!" Castiel hushed, "I can't hear the movie."

Maya rolled her eyes, getting to her feet. "Yeah, I think it's time for you to go, Nathaniel," she sighed.

"Okay," he said, leaving the apartment more quickly than he should have.

"What the hell, Castiel?" she said, standing in between him and the TV.

"What?" he said, "Did you expect me to be polite or something? It's my house and if he doesn't like the way I act in it, then I'm glad he's gone."

"You're acting like a little kid," she said sharply, "He wasn't doing anything to provoke you."

"I don't like him," Castiel said sternly.

"I know that," she said, "But I wouldn't have brought him here if I'd have known you were going to come home early because I know that you're just going to act like a dick to him."

"Well he deserves it," Castiel said, rolling his eyes, "When has he ever done a nice thing for me?"

"I don't know," she said, "But he wasn't doing anything bad to you either."

He looked away, mumbling something that was inaudible for her. She put her hands on her hips.

"Whatever," she sighed, "I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight," she heard him say quietly but she went into her room without glancing back, closing the door behind her. She sighed again, preparing for bed and curling up under the blanket, making sure she was laying on her right side for the baby. After a few moments as she neared sleep, the door opened. She opened her eyes to see Castiel standing there. He turned the lights on.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing the look on his face.

He shook his head, sitting on the edge of her bed beside her. "Don't be mad at me," he said quietly.

"What?" she said, "Well how can I not be? You basically drove my boyfriend out."

"I hate him," he said, "Do you want to know why I hate him?"

"Why?"

"Because I know that he's going to be spending more time with you and the baby than me," he said, "He's… taking away the things that matter."

"The things that matter?" she said softly, sitting up, "I matter to you?"

"Of course," he muttered, "You're carrying my child…"

"Is that all I am to you?" she said, quietly, "Just the girl who's carrying your child? Just your 'baby momma'?" when he didn't respond, she sighed, lying back down. "You know," she said, "Maybe its best we don't see each other much when I move out. We'll swap the baby back and forth but that will be the only time we see each other."

"No," he said quickly, turning and pinning her down, "Don't do that. I don't have anybody else."

"You're contradicting yourself, Castiel," she said, sighing.

"No," he said, squeezing her shoulders, "I'm not! I need you to stay. Stay, Maya, please! You have to stay here."

"Listen," she said, "I'm sure you don't want Nathaniel here as much as he doesn't want to come here. I highly doubt you'll be okay with he and I getting intimate once the baby is born. It would be a whole lot safer if I lived with Nathaniel. I definitely want this baby to live in a safe and healthy environment. We'll see each other every day, Castiel. I don't see what you're fretting about."

He leaned forward and she flinched; it was almost like he was going to kiss her but he tucked his head over her shoulder and held her tightly.

"Maya," he said quietly, "You're my best friend. Don't laugh at me but… I've never had a best friend before. So I'm afraid to lose you."

Maya couldn't help but smile. "I'm not going anywhere," she said softly.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, staying in place. Clearly he wasn't planning to move.

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" she said, "Shouldn't you get to bed?"

"I want to sleep here," he said, "I feel close to the baby."

Giggling, Maya nodded. "Okay, whatever floats your boat," she said, "Oh yeah, during my break today, I was texting Celeste and she was giving me more names."

"Yeah?" he said, "Did she give you any good ones?"

"Well, you know Celeste," Maya chuckled, "Her names are always a little too… unique. But she gave me one that I like."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Luna," she said slowly, "I don't know why, but I like that name. If you don't like it, I want to look at French names. I like French names." When he was silent, she said, "I also like the name Ciara. If we named her that, we could call her Cici. Or maybe Claire."

"I like Ciara," he said.

She grinned. "Awesome," she said, "So we have a name for her. If you find something better, though, let me know, okay?"

"Okay," he said. After a long pause, he murmured, "I bet she'll be beautiful."

"I don't see how she couldn't be," Maya responded, "I mean, not to sound conceited or anything, but look at us." She giggled, poking his side.

There was another long pause. Maya couldn't help but wonder what was running through his mind while he was in this romantic position with her. She knew that if Nathaniel found out about this, their relationship was already still being repaired after the past mistakes they'd both made, so this would be just the ice breaker. She felt glad that Nathaniel wasn't there to see this; she loved him but she wanted to comfort Castiel too.

"Castiel," she said softly, "Are you…?" she trailed off when she felt the heavy breathing warming her neck. She smiled. He was sleeping. She held him tightly, feeling warm inside out. She could somehow feel it inside that the baby – Ciara – liked when she was closer to Castiel and felt uncomfortable when she was closer to Nathaniel. She knew that if those feelings stayed while Ciara grew up, it would cause problems. Then a thought suddenly popped into her head – would Ciara know the truth about her father or would she believe the lie? Maya turned towards Castiel. She couldn't see his face buried in the crane of her neck. What would be his opinion on it?

"Ciara?"

Nathaniel seemed to like the name but at the same time he didn't look completely sure. He looked thoughtful but nodded anyways. He was trying too hard to keep from arguing. She thought it was cute but at the same time she wanted to take him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him.

"Yeah," she said, "I think it's a cute name. Plus we can give her the nickname Cici."

"Cici," he said, smiling, "I like that."

"I'm glad," she giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist. They were outside at a park near Castiel's apartment. People were walking dogs and bringing children. Maya knew this would be a place that Cici knew well when she was born.

Taking Nathaniel's hand, she sat at the nearest bench. Nathaniel sat close, using his free hand to caress her belly. "I felt a kick," he said happily before meeting her gaze, "Maya, aren't you excited? We're going to be parents!"

She wanted to feel happy, gazing at the elation gleaming in his eyes. She wanted to kiss him and say yes. But all she could do was sit there, gazing at him like an idiot while feeling her heart break in her chest. What if he found out that Ciara wasn't his? How would he feel? She held on to him, tears welling in her eyes.

"I love you," she murmured.

"Why are you crying?" he said softly, stroking her hair, "Don't cry. I hate to see you cry."

She giggled into his shirt. "It's because I'm so stupid," she muttered, "I wish you didn't love me."

He held her tightly. "Don't say that," he said softly, "I'll love you no matter what."

"I wish you wouldn't say things like that," she said, "I'm not a good girlfriend or future wife slash fiancé or mistress or whatever you want to call me. Whatever it is, I'm not good at it. I think you deserve much better than me and I wish you would've fallen for Melody because you'd be so much happier with her."

"Stop," he said sternly, "You know that's not true; none of it is. I was never happier with Melody than you and you're the best girlfriend I've had. I love you."

She shook her head. "Please stop saying that," she murmured.

He held her tightly in his arms. "Why?" he said softly, "I do. I love you."

She couldn't help but continue crying. It just hurt so much knowing she was keeping such a huge secret from him, but she knew it would hurt him more if he knew about it. She sniffled, sitting up and gazing at him with a forced smile on her face as she wiped away the tears. "She's due at the end of August," she said.

He grinned, holding her tightly. "Don't cry," he murmured, "Be happy! I'm sure that's what Ciara would want." After a long pause, he said, "Come on, let's go somewhere to eat. I'll pay."

"Can I pay?" she asked, "It would make me feel better."

He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "To be honest, it kind of makes me feel less masculine," he admitted sheepishly, "But if it'll make you feel better…"

She smiled. "Great," she said, "Let's go back to the building so I can get my money. You can wait outside if you don't want to go in."

"Okay," he said, taking her hand as she got to her feet. She led him back to Castiel's apartment building and left him outside as she entered. She hurried up to the apartment and went inside to see Castiel still eating breakfast by himself.

"So you're up," she said, grinning, "You're a really heavy sleeper, did you know that? It took me forever to get out from under you." Her smile faded when he was silent. "Um, Castiel," she said quietly, closing the door, "What are we going to tell Ciara?"

"About what?" he asked.

"About who her dad is," she said, "Are we going to tell her the truth or the lie?"

"The lie," he said, "Maybe when she's old enough we can tell her the truth but while she's still young she needs to know the lie."

"Why?" she asked.

"Kids say what they feel like," he said, shrugging, "We don't want that to come up in conversation while Nathaniel is around."

"Okay," she said, "I just feel a little guilty."

"Don't," he said, "It would be a lot worse if he knew the truth."

"I know," she sighed, approaching her room. She found her wallet and stuffed it in her pocket as she stepped out the doorway of her bedroom, she found herself face-to-face with Castiel. He put his hands on her shoulders.

"Only me and you can know about this," he said, "As long as we do what we were planning to do and nobody has a problem with it, we'll be okay."

She nodded, afraid to meet his gaze. "I know," she said, "It's just kind of scary to think about… and I feel really guilty and really happy at the same time." She held her overgrown belly. "Honestly," she said, "I feel like she's happier when I'm with you than when I'm with Nathaniel."

Castiel smirked, his hands falling to his side. "She has good judgment," he said proudly, "She gets that from daddy."

Maya giggled, nudging him. He lifted his hands and caressed her belly.

"I'll be waiting for you," he murmured. Maya gazed at him, feeling shocked. The look on his face was so sincere. She'd never seen his face like that. "I love her already," he said softly.

"Me too," she said, gazing down at her belly.


	27. Twenty Seven: Miss Hopeless

Once Ciara was born, Maya and Castiel did a DNA test behind Nathaniel's back and it came back positive, which was to Maya's dismay but to Castiel's happiness. Thirteen years had passed and Ciara was in seventh grade now, as a thirteen-year-old. Celeste did most of her shopping as a child but as Ciara grew, she adopted her own style; now she preferred to wear darker clothing that was occasionally a bit revealing and always tight. Her eyes were the same color of Castiel's but Maya had lied to Nathaniel and told him that her mother had those color eyes. She had thick black hair that she wore down to her waist and was naturally straight. Her attitude resembled Castiel's, which worried Nathaniel when it came to her staying at Castiel's every other night. She and Nathaniel didn't get along much at all and she tended to avoid him in general but she loved spending nights at Castiel's house. She still wasn't aware that Castiel was really her father and not Nathaniel. They still weren't sure when they'd tell her.

Nathaniel and Maya we're still going through a long engagement. They didn't deem the wedding as necessary since they were already like a married couple so they kept forgetting about it. Ciara didn't mind; she tended to push Maya to marry Castiel instead anyways. Castiel and Orihime on the other hand were on and off all the time. Just as things heated up again, he'd start pushing her away and she didn't like that. Celeste and Lysander were quite smitten with each other and eloped in Miami, Florida when Ciara was still a toddler.

Now it was still the first week of Ciara's seventh grade year and she was still stubborn to get up. Maya shook her gently.

"Wake up, honey," she said softly, "You're going to be late!"

"Whatever," she muttered.

Maya rolled her eyes. "Do you want me to get the bucket?" she threatened.

"We both know you're not actually going to spill anything on me," Ciara said stubbornly.

"Just get up," Maya sighed. Ciara pulled a pillow over her ear and groaned loudly. "Look, I'm not leaving until you get up."

"Leave her be," Nathaniel's voice sounded from the doorway, "She's hopeless."

"Don't say that," Maya said sternly.

"No, I think he's right for once," Ciara said, the smirk visible on her face, "Just leave me be. Who cares about school anyways?"

"I care," Maya said, shaking her again, "So many doors will be opened for you through school."

"Blah, blah, blah," Ciara muttered, "Dad can tutor me." She called Castiel dad rather than Nathaniel. When it came to Nathaniel, she simply referred to him as 'him' or 'he'.

Maya rolled her eyes again before pulling her to her feet. "How does Castiel deal with this?" she sighed.

"He offers me things," Ciara said, rubbing her eyes, "Like taking me out for lunch or taking me to go shopping."

"Just get dressed," Maya said, "If I come back in an hour and you're still not ready, I'm getting you ready myself."

She stepped out of Ciara's room and closed the door. Nathaniel was in the kitchen, gazing at her curiously as he sipped a cup of coffee.

"You shouldn't call her things like hopeless," she said quietly as she approached him, "At her age, she'll take everything we tell her seriously."

He chuckled. "Not with that attitude," he said, "Besides, she acts too much like Castiel. I think you've let him rub off on her too much."

"So you think Castiel is emotionless?" she said, sighing as she leaned against the counter he leaned against, but on the opposite side, "Castiel has emotions too. But Ciara is a thirteen-year-old girl; she probably has more emotions than she lets off. People with her attitude don't like to show how they're feeling."

"Well let's hope she doesn't act like a delinquent like Castiel did at school," Nathaniel sighed, "I had always hoped I wouldn't have to see him again after graduation."

Maya smiled. "I wish you two would get along," she said, "Castiel's a great guy, really. You just have to get to know him."

"No," Nathaniel said slowly, "No… I already know that wouldn't go well."

She sighed. "He treats Ciara like his own daughter, you know," she said, "You have some competition!"

"I won't consider him competition until you start falling for him," Nathaniel said, rolling his eyes, "He can keep Ciara if he wants."

Maya's jaw fell and she nudged him roughly. "Don't say that," she said, "I love Ciara and I know you do too, somewhere deep down."

"Way, way, way deep down," Nathaniel muttered.

"You know what," she sighed, entering the kitchen, "I'm just going to ignore you and make Ciara some breakfast because you lie."

Nathaniel chuckled behind her as she began to prepare a pancake batter. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek tenderly. She smiled, brushing him off. By the time she'd finished making Ciara's breakfast, she was peeking out of her bedroom.

"Cici," Maya said, "Come have your breakfast."

Ciara shook her head quickly. "I'm not hungry," she said, "Let's just go."

"No, we have time," Maya said, "Come and eat your breakfast first. It's the most important meal of the day."

Ciara sighed and approached the kitchen slowly. She took her breakfast and sat at the opposite end of the table that Nathaniel sat at and nibbled on her food slowly.

"Mom," Ciara said quietly, "Can I stay at dad's house after school?"

"Why?" Maya asked, "You're supposed to go at seven. It'll keep things even."

"I know," Ciara said, avoiding looking at Nathaniel completely, "But there's always less arguing at his house."

Nathaniel began tapping his fingers against the table. "Arguing?" Maya said, "Well, Nathaniel works pretty much all day today. Are you sure?"

"Are you planning anything?" she asked, "Can't we just go to his house a little early? You always come with me anyways."

Maya sighed. "You don't get your homework done on time whenever we go earlier," she said, "I think your homework is more important."

"I don't think so," Ciara said, "But whatever, I guess."

After school, Maya was parked outside of Ciara's school, waiting for her. When Ciara came into view, Maya's brow went up. She was holding hands with a boy. Not only that, the boy had jet black hair that was styled and wore chains and baggy pants and a band t-shirt. He didn't look like the kind of guy Nathaniel would approve of. She hugged him and hurried towards the car, climbing into the passenger's seat.

"Who was that?" Maya asked curiously. Ciara blushed.

"Um," she said, "Nobody."

Maya nudged her playfully, giggling. "You can tell me," she said, "Neither of your dads will find out."

"Oh," she said, "Well… his name is Nick. He's my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend, huh?" Maya said, starting the car, "It seems like just yesterday I was breast feeding you and now you're dating."

"Mom, ew," Ciara muttered, "Don't talk about breast feeding."

Maya laughed. "How long have you been dating that kid?" she asked.

"Like a week," Ciara said, smiling, "I've liked him since before though. He's a year older than me."

"Oh, so he's an eighth grader, huh?" Maya said, beginning to drive home.

"Yeah," Ciara said, "But you can't tell dad or that guy."

Maya laughed. "That guy?" she said, "So now you're calling him that guy?"

"Well yeah," she said, shrugging, "It's not like he cares about me anyway. I heard everything he said this morning."

Sighing, Maya said, "He just loves to complain. He does care about you, honey. It's just that you act a lot like Castiel and he doesn't like Castiel at all."

"I don't act like dad," she said, "And the only reason he doesn't like dad is because he's uptight and he doesn't appreciate fun when he sees it."

"Don't say that," she said, "Wow, I'm sick of all of this feuding. I wish everybody would just get along."

"Not everybody's like you," Ciara muttered, "You get along with everybody."

"That's not true," Maya said, "I just prefer to keep peace, but I don't get along with everybody. I never got along with Nathaniel's sister."

"He has a sister?" Ciara said, "Is she as bad as he is?"

Maya giggled. "No, she's just really… selfish and… I don't know, hard to explain," she said, "Your typical high school mean girl. I don't know how she ended up though."

"It would be cool if we could meet her one day," Ciara suggested.

"No," Maya said quickly, "I gave her a black eye once. She knocked me out with a tree branch after tricking me into spraining my ankle. She and I didn't get along at all."

"See," Ciara said, "That's how I feel about that guy, except we don't get violent. Not yet, anyway. Every time you leave me home alone with him, I feel like he's going to shoot me every time he sees me."

"No, he cares about you more than you think," Maya said softly, "I still remember when I was pregnant with you. He always talked about how excited he was to be a dad. He put off college for a year for you."

"Then I learned to talk," she muttered, "And everything went downhill. I know he thinks I have a bad attitude and he thinks I'm a 'delinquent'. I don't see how he resembles me to dad if he thinks of me like that. Dad's the coolest guy I've ever met and he spoils me more than you and that guy. I've never seen him do bad things. How is he a delinquent?"

"Neither of you are delinquents," Maya sighed, pulling into the driveway, "You're both people I care about."

"Well that guy doesn't know anything about me or dad," she said, opening the door beside her, "And I don't know him either. Where does he even work? Does he even have a legitimate job?"

"Of course he does," Maya said, "How do you think we could afford this house? He's a doctor."

Ciara hopped out of the car. "Whatever," she sighed, "When I finish my homework, can we go to dad's house?"

"When you finish," Maya said but by then Ciara was already hurrying inside.

Maya had barely stepped out of the car by the time Ciara was knocking on Castiel's front door. He'd moved out of his parents' home after a while and moved in somewhere big enough for Ciara and a third person. Demon had passed a few years back, which was impressive for a dog. Maya was sure Castiel would've been so much more upset than he was if he didn't have Ciara. She locked her car door and ascended his porch stairs just in time to see him open the door and gather Ciara in his arms. He grew his hair out in a way so that it was longer in the back than the front and it complimented him nicely.

"Dad," Ciara said happily as he set her down, "I couldn't wait for the day to be over already."

"Why?" he asked, "Was _that guy_ being his usual ignorant self?"

"Well, duh!" Ciara said, "I couldn't wait to see you."

Castiel stepped aside and Ciara rushed in. Maya approached the door but he stood in her way, a smirk on his face.

"Hello there," Maya said, "You don't know me but I come here every day. Now move before I take my daughter back."

"Nah," he said, "She's in my custody now."

Maya raised her hand to give him a retort but he pulled her into a firm embrace. She couldn't hide her smile as she returned it.

"Are you spending the night?" he asked quietly so Ciara wouldn't hear.

"No," she responded, "You know I can't. Nathaniel isn't going to let me."

"Is he all you ever think about?" he sighed, "I wish you could see him for what he really is. Then maybe you and I could have another."

"Never," Maya muttered, "I'm not going through labor again."

"Aw," he said, squeezing her, "I was hoping we could bring another pretty girl like you into the world. Maybe she'll choose the right guy."

Maya sighed, pushing him away. Since he'd been working and spending a lot of time with Ciara, his mood lightened up since high school. Not only that, but he was a bit pushy. Maya skirted him and went in to see Ciara half-lying down on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table, a remote in her hand. Nathaniel would've gone insane if this was at home and he saw. She chuckled at her sloppiness and sat beside her to see she was watching some show about ways to die.

"Is this really something a girl your age should be watching?" Maya asked slowly.

"Shh!" Ciara said, "I think he's allergic to that gag."

"Don't make her stop watching it," Castiel said, "That's her favorite show."

Maya sighed, knowing that Castiel probably knew more about Ciara's likes and dislikes than she did.


	28. Twenty Eight: When Did I Fall in Love?

"What do you want to eat?" Castiel asked Ciara as he stood between her and the TV, "We could go out if you want."

"Hm, I don't know," she said, "I kind of feel like just staying in and having some of mom's cooking." She gazed up at Maya beside her. "Mom, will you cook for us?"

She sighed, getting to her feet. "Well, I can't say no," she said, "Even though I'm going to have to cook another dinner later for Nathaniel."

"He doesn't have to eat," Castiel said, smirking with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

Her brow went up and she brushed past him, approaching the kitchen. She made her best spaghetti and served it at the table that Castiel and Ciara prepared together. She sat beside Ciara, Castiel sitting across from them.

"Dad," Ciara said, "Is tonight movie night?"

He nodded. "What genre do you want?"

"Horror," she said without thinking.

"Keep it PG-13," Maya said.

Ciara laughed. "Please," she muttered, "I've already seen tons of rated R movies."

Maya rolled her eyes, glaring at Castiel. "That's because someone doesn't know about age limits," she muttered, "How about tonight you watch _Beauty and The Beast_? Or something else that involves a cartoon heroine."

"No, no, no," Ciara said sternly, "That's lame. I hate that movie. Let's watch something bloody."

Maya sighed, rubbing her forehead, knowing her words were going in one ear and out the other.

"Alright," Castiel said, "It all depends. If your mom stays for the movie, we'll watch something she wants us to watch. If she leaves, we can watch whatever you want."

"Well this isn't really giving me choice here," Maya said, "Okay… I guess I'll leave when Nathaniel calls me."

"Spend the night," Castiel said, smirking, "My bed has an empty half."

Maya rolled her eyes. "I'm legally married," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Mom, once your marriage license expires, why don't you marry dad?" Ciara suggested, "I like him better than that guy."

Maya smiled. "I'm in a happy relationship," she said, "Besides, Castiel, don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Plenty," he said shrugging. She glared at him and he laughed. "I'm kidding," he said, "We're broken up right now."

"They got in a fight," Ciara said, "His girlfriend doesn't like me because he spends more time with me."

"Orihime?" Maya said, "Does she know about Nathaniel…?" She was referring to the fact that Ciara wasn't Nathaniel's daughter.

"No, she doesn't know," he said, "I told you, that's a secret."

"A secret?" Ciara said curiously.

"Yeah," he said, "How babies are made."

"I'm taking health class, dad," she said, narrowing her eyes at him, "I already know that."

"You should drop that class," he said, looking away.

Maya chuckled. "Oh well," she said, "Let's watch a romance."

"How did the conversation go from health class to romance movies?" Castiel sighed, "If that's what you're talking about, then no, we're not watching that."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "That's not what I'm talking about. I mean just a regular romance movie, with nothing like that in it."

"Oh," he said, "Well if that's what you want, then I guess."

"Romances are lame," Ciara said, "Can we at least watch an action movie?"

"PG-13 at best," Maya compromised.

"Fine," Ciara agreed.

Ciara was fast asleep on the couch – she didn't even get to finish the movie. Castiel carried her into her room after the movie and put her in her bed. Castiel sat beside Maya on the couch as she put on some random reality show that she didn't really care about.

"How's Nathaniel?" he said.

"You don't care," she said, chuckling.

"I'm trying to be nice," he said slowly.

"Well then he's fine," she said.

"When are you going to leave him?" he said, grinning.

She laughed. "I knew you didn't really care how he's doing," she said, "And I don't plan on leaving him."

He leaned towards her, touching her chin. She turned her head slightly, feeling as if he would kiss her lips but he didn't – he was aiming for her neck. His lips met her neck and she pulled away from him suddenly but he pulled himself on top of her, taking her wrists and pinning them to the wall above her head. He used his free hand to hold her waist as he kissed her neck seductively, moving up until he touched the corner of her lips. She turned her head away.

"Stop," she said softly.

He chuckled. "Well when you say it like that, it makes me want more," he murmured.

"Don't you have to go… get ready for bed or something?" she responded.

He chuckled again, his lips touching her cheeks so lightly that her skin tingled. He got to his feet, tousling her hair.

"I'll be back," he said softly as he went to his room.

Maya fidgeted in her spot on the couch. She could leave now, if she wanted to. If she really wanted to, she could just go and never look back. But something in her heart told her to stay. She couldn't convince herself to leave if she tried. She held her breath, closing her eyes. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't regretting staying. As she sat there, she kept letting the same thought run through her mind over and over again. It was the same thought she constantly had whenever she was near Castiel – when did she fall in love with him?

When he returned, she felt her heart ache. She wanted him. The only reason she couldn't have him was because she still loved Nathaniel as well and it would hurt her even more to let him go. He sat beside her, slinging his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. It was when he did things like this that made her feel dirty. She didn't want to hurt Nathaniel but she knew he would be hurt if he knew all the things that ran through her mind.

Maya had finally returned home and went inside to see Nathaniel nearly asleep on the couch. She grinned, kneeling down in front of him. He was still all dressed up from work. She fiddled with the buttons of his shirt until his eyes opened.

"You're home," he said quietly.

She nodded. "Are you hungry?" she asked, "Sorry for coming so late. We watched a movie."

"I already ate," he said, "And it's okay, don't worry about it."

"Okay," she said softly, "You should change and go to bed in our room. It'll get cold in here over night."

He nodded and she helped him to his feet, holding his hand tightly as she led him to their bedroom. She changed in her pajamas and turned to see that he had done so as well. He was lying down on the bed. She climbed in beside him and rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Goodnight," she murmured.

"Goodnight," he mumbled in response, already beginning to drift off into sleep.

"Where's my darling Ciara?"

Celeste's voice invaded Maya's dreams. She opened her eyes. Sunlight filtered in through the blinds over the windows. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her side was warm; Nathaniel was still asleep. She gazed at the door to see Celeste peeking in, clad in a floral thigh-length dress with high-tops on her feet. Maya couldn't help but jump to her feet and threw her arms around her.

"I missed you so much," she said happily, "How long has it been now? A year?"

Celeste giggled. "I think so," she said, "Wow, time flies."

"I know," Maya said, pulling back to get a good look at her, "Did you get your haircut?"

"Just a trim," Celeste said, shrugging, "I don't want it to get too long, you know? I like this length."

It was just below her lower back by now. "How are you and Lysander?" Maya asked.

"Oh we're just fine," she said, grinning, "Lysander's over in the living room. How is Ciara?"

"Ciara's healthy," Maya said, smiling, "She's at Castiel's house today."

"Oh I hope I get to see her," Celeste said, "I miss my little munchkin."

"She's more like Castiel every day," Maya sighed, "It's not that I mind, but Nathaniel does. He doesn't like that at all."

"Well I don't see how he would," Celeste said, "He hates Castiel."

"He and Ciara have a lot of problems lately," she said, "It's hard to deal with. She thinks he doesn't care about her at all so she prefers to stay at Castiel's house and he thinks she's just a bad kid in general."

"That's not good," Celeste said, furrowing her brow, "I have to fix this!"

Maya giggled. "Well do your best, I've been playing psychiatrist for the past three months," she sighed, "Nothing seems to work. I've left them home alone together countless times and all that happens is she locks herself in her room all day."

"I need to try," she said, hitting her palm with her fist, "We can't have daddy's little girl and daddy feuding, that's not how it works."

Maya smiled. "So what have you two been up to?"

"Travelling," Celeste shrugged, "I love being an artist! I make so much money just doing the thing I love the most and neither of us even has to work."

"That's awesome," Maya said, skirting Celeste and peering into the living room. She waved at Lysander. "Hey, Lysander," she said, smiling. He waved back and she turned to Celeste. "I'm gonna go make breakfast," she said, "Try to wake up Nathaniel. He's off today."

Celeste nodded, creeping into her bedroom as she went into the kitchen. She made breakfast for four and set the table before returning to her bedroom to see Celeste crouched in her spot on the bed, shaking Nathaniel by the shoulders.

"Wake up!" she bellowed in his ear.

He shook his head, shoving her face away with his hand. Maya couldn't help but laugh. "Nathan," she called, "Come eat breakfast."

He rubbed his eyes and sat up. "What did you make?" he asked, oblivious to Celeste's gaping.

"How did you do that?" Celeste said.

Shrugging, Maya said, "I'm just used to waking him up in the mornings. After he started working, it's like this every time he has a day off."

"It's like some kind of black magic," Celeste said.

Nathaniel climbed out of bed, ignoring their conversation as he brushed past Maya, towards the table.


	29. Twenty Nine: Ciara: My Boyfriend

Ciara sighed, putting her bag over her shoulder. She hated to be going back to her mother's house. She loved her mother, she just hated the tension of being around _that guy_. She brushed her hair before opening her bedroom door. Castiel was sitting in the couch, his attention drawn away from the television set when she stepped out of her room.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked. She nodded. He led the way to the door and to the car. She climbed into the passenger's seat as he started the car. "What's wrong?" he asked as he began driving.

"Nothing," she sighed.

He chuckled. "That's obviously not 'nothing'," he said.

"I don't want to go back to mom's house," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, "I don't want to see that guy."

"Don't worry," he said, "If he ever hurts you, I don't need Maya's permission to punch him in the face."

Ciara smiled. "I'd like to see that," she said quietly.

The rest of the car ride was silent, until they pulled into her mother's driveway. She hugged Castiel tightly. "Bye, dad," she said, "I love you."

"Love you more," he said, ruffling her hair. She giggled before climbing out of the car. She closed the door and slowly walked towards the front door, skipping up the stairs. She took a deep breath and opened it. Her mother was standing near the door with Celeste and Lysander. They looked prepared to leave.

"Ciara," Maya said, reaching towards her. Just before she could touch her, Celeste pulled her into a swift, firm embrace.

"I missed you!" Celeste said.

"I missed you too," Ciara said, chuckling.

Once she managed to pry off Celeste, Maya hugged Ciara as well. "Okay, honey," she said, "Stay here with your dad. We're going out but we'll be back soon, okay? Behave."

"My dad?" Ciara said, looking around, "He went home, he's not here."

Celeste chuckled and Maya sighed. "You know who I'm talking about," she said.

"Whatever," Ciara muttered, pushing past them and approaching her bedroom. She waited until they were gone before she took out her cell phone. She called one of her contacts.

She couldn't help but smile when she heard him answer. "Hey, Nick," she said, quietly so Nathaniel wouldn't hear, "Do you want to come over? Nobody's home right now."

"Yeah, sure," he said, "I'll go now."

"Great," she said, "See you then."

"Later," he said. She hung up her phone and stuffed it in her pocket. She hurried to the living room, peeking out the window. She knew Nathaniel was asleep; that was mostly what his days off consisted of. She waited by the window until she saw Nick ride into view on his bike. He leaned it against her porch and hopped up the stairs. She glanced back before opening the front door.

"Hey," she said smiling as she took his hands. She closed the door with her foot and led him to her room. She closed the door, just in case Nathaniel awoke. When she turned, she met his gaze. What was that look in his eyes? It didn't frighten her but it made him look a bit unapproachable. She stepped closer to him. "How was your day?" she asked him.

"Fine," he answered simply. He lifted a gloved hand and touched her cheek. She blushed, avoiding his gaze. He was her first boyfriend so she wasn't sure how to react when he did things like this. He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. Her heart raced wildly in her chest; it was her first kiss. She kissed him back nervously. After a few long moments of him leading her through it, he began folding up her shirt. She pulled away.

"Nick, I don't really want to go that far," she said slowly.

From this close, she could see the red tint in his eyes. Was he on something? She felt a tug of fear on her insides as he took her hands by the wrists and pinned them against the wall behind her.

"Stop," she said, struggling to pull away. He used his free hand to pull up her shirt and she let loose a scream.

"Shut up," he said sternly, pulling a pocketknife out of his pocket. He took out the blade, aiming it towards her. "You're going to do whatever I say," he said.

She screamed again, struggling desperately when the knife began approaching her. It seemed like slow motion but at the same time it was moving so quickly. Everything became a blur. She could see the door open from her peripheral vision and she gasped. Suddenly, her hands were free. It took her a few moments to gather what had just happened. She was gazing at someone's back; no, it was Nathaniel's back. She took a step away to see what had happened. He was wincing, the knife piercing his chest as he held the blade to keep it from going any deeper.

"Oh… my…" she couldn't even manage to finish as tears poured down her cheeks as she fell into convulsions. Traumatized, she fell to her knees. She barely noticed as Nathaniel pushed Nick away and pinned him down.

"Ciara," he said, "Get your phone and dial nine-one-one."

Still trembling, she sat there, gazing at him with wide, frightened eyes. It took her a few moments to register what he'd said. She slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and called the number.

"Nine-one-one emergency, what's your emergency?" was the answer she got after a few rings.

"Uh… um," she said slowly, her mind going blank, "M-my dad… got stabbed."

"Okay, could you give me your location?" the woman said.

Ciara described where her home was as best as she could.

"Okay, honey, we'll be there soon," she said.

Ciara hung up the phone without another word. She couldn't gaze at the bloody scene in front of her any longer. She gazed at the floor in front of her, her tears dripping from her chin on to her hands in her lap. Was this some kind of nightmare? She began to feel so dizzy that the ache in her head began to weigh her down until she fell back, inundated by the whole scenario. Everything went blank.

Ciara finally came to and found herself in someone's arms. She was being held like a crying baby, her head over his shoulder and her knees hooked on to his sides. She could tell who it was just by the warmth of him, but she couldn't help but wonder why he was there.

"Dad," she murmured, "Is he going to be okay?"

"Of course," he said softly, "Don't worry about anything, Ciara."

She couldn't mute the sound of a woman crying in the background. It took her a few minutes to realize that it was her mother, only because she rarely ever cried. She bit her lip. This was all her fault; all of it. None of this would've happened if she never decided to go behind Nathaniel's back and invited Nick over.

"Dad," she said quietly, "Why is mom crying?"

"It just took her by surprise," he said, "Everything will be okay."

Castiel gave her a gentle yet comforting squeeze and she buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm scared," she murmured.

"Don't be," he said softly.

"Dad," she said, "Can… can you put me down?" He nodded and set her down gently, using her shoulders to steady her when she stumbled. She turned. They were on the front porch. She could see inside her house that her mother was sitting on the couch, Celeste beside her, comforting her as Lysander handed her a glass of water. Where was Nathaniel? She took a step inside and Castiel took her arm.

"Look, it's probably best if you stay out here," he said, "Actually, tonight you're staying at my house, okay?"

"Why?" she said, "Do… do they hate me now?"

"Of course not," he said, "It would just be better. She needs to calm down."

Ciara hesitantly nodded as he took her hand and led her to the car. "Where is he?" she asked.

"At the hospital," he said, starting the car.

"This is my fault," she said quietly, leaning her head against the window, "If… if I was never born, I bet everybody would be happier."

Castiel squeezed her hand closest to him. "Don't ever say that again," he said, sternly, "You have no idea how loved you are."

"I made mom cry," she said, "I got _dad_ stabbed in the chest. I ruined Celeste and Lysander's visit here. I think you're the only one who still loves me."

"That's not true," he said, "Do you think he would've jumped in front of you to take the knife for you if he didn't love you? Your mom suggested I take you to my house because you were so traumatized that she didn't want you sleeping in the room where it happened for a while. She was only crying because she was worried, not only about Nathaniel but about you too."

She sighed. "It's my fault this happened," she said, "All because I invited that stupid boy over… I didn't think he would ever do something like that."

"The cop said he was on some drug," Castiel said slowly.

"But he's only fourteen," she sighed, "Why would he resort to something like that?"

"People can surprise you," he said, shrugging.

Once they arrived at his home, Ciara hurried to her room and locked herself in it. He didn't bother her, thinking it best not to. Around midnight, she decided to take a bath before returning to her room. She laid in her bed for half an hour until deciding she couldn't sleep. She got to her feet, feeling weak. She went to Castiel's door and knocked on it lightly.

"Come in, Ciara," he said quietly. She opened the door to see him sitting on the edge of his bed in pajamas.

"I can't sleep," she said softly, "Can I sleep in here?"

He nodded and she climbed into the side of his bed opposite him. He laid down beside her, facing her with a worried look on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"I'm worried about you," he said quietly.

"I'm okay," she said, "Why are you worried about me?"

"Because you've never asked to sleep next to me before, not even when you were a little girl," he said.

"Well it's not every day I watch my boyfriend take out a knife on me and my dad take the blow," she muttered.

Still looking worried, he pulled the blanket over her shoulder and kissed her forehead.

"Dad," she said quietly, "Why does mom bring me here every other day?"

He took a deep breath as if he was thinking. "I guess because it'd be good for you," he said slowly as if he wasn't sure, "She and I are close."

"But why?" she said, "She's close with Celeste too and I've never spent the night at her house."

"That's different," he said quickly, "Let's not talk about this now, okay?"

"Just tell me," she said, "I can tell you're keeping something from me."

He bit his lip. "This is something you need to talk to your mom about," he said.

"I'm asking you, though," she said, "If mom doesn't want me to know, I promise I won't tell her that I know."

"It's not that," he said, "It's a big secret that nobody knows but me and her."

"Not even my real dad?" she said.

He chuckled. "The irony," he said, looking away.

"Just tell me," she said.

"Okay, look," he said, "You have to promise not to tell anybody at all ever, okay?"

"I promise," she said.

He took a deep breath. "Okay," he said slowly, "Your life is a lie."

She chuckled. "What?"

"Nathaniel… he isn't your real dad," he said slowly, "If you catch my drift."

She gazed at him with wide eyes. "Are you joking?" she said, "I want the truth."

"It is the truth," he said, "He's not your dad."

"So you're saying that you're my real dad?" she said after a pause.

"Yeah," he said, "Your mom and I were best friends back then but it was just a one night stand."

"Everything makes sense now," she said, "So why doesn't my other dad know?"

"It's complicated," he said, "Maya doesn't want him to know for… relationship purposes, I guess."

"So she cheated on him?" she asked.

"No," he said, "They were broken up at the time."

"That's why I'm more like you," she said, "But… I feel guilty because of what he did for me today."

"Don't feel guilty," he said, "If he ever finds out, it's on me and Maya, not you."

She moved closer to him, tilting her forehead against his chest. "Can we go see him tomorrow?"

"Whatever you want," he said softly, holding her tightly.


	30. Thirty: Best Friends FINAL

Ciara gazed around. She was standing outside of a door with the same room number on it that was written on her hand. She felt a bit dizzy. He wasn't her real dad, but she'd grown to love him as such. Although she constantly disobeyed him and acted up, he still cared about her. She had a hard time showing it but she loved him. Today she wanted him to know that. Castiel gave her a light push from behind. She nodded once and grasped the cold silver door knob in her shaky hand. She turned it slowly and opened it. Her gaze found Nathaniel, lying in a hospital bed, looking just as healthy as he did yesterday, aside from the bandages wrapped around his chest. He gazed at her blankly, as if he wasn't expecting her to show up. She felt choked up, gazing at him sitting there, knowing that it was all her fault. She approached him slowly, clenching her hands into fists. She threw herself into his arms once she was close enough.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as tears welled in her eyes, "I'm so sorry! I just wish… I could take it back. I would give anything to go back to yesterday to change that I invited that guy over… I'm so stupid."

He returned her embrace slowly. "Don't be sorry," he said, "We all have regrets, right? I know I have mine." He paused before saying softly, "Listen, Ciara… I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you. I love you, I really do."

"I love you too," she said, standing up straight and wiping her tears with her wrists.

"Oh?" Nathaniel said, "I wasn't expecting you to be one of my visitors."

Ciara glanced back to see Castiel standing, leaning against the wall behind her. He looked away. "Don't be stupid," he said, "I'm only here because I'm her ride." There was a pause before he sighed and said, "Look, I just wanted to say thanks. Ciara means a lot to me and if you didn't jump in there, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to handle standing next to her in a hospital bed. So thanks."

Nathaniel chuckled, gazing at Ciara. "Yeah," he said, "I don't think I could either." There was another long pause before he said softly, "Even though she's not my real daughter."

Ciara's gaze shot towards him and she glanced back at Castiel, who looked just as astonished as she felt.

"How… did you know that?" Castiel said.

"Before Ciara was even born," he said, "I overheard one of your conversations with Maya. It hurt, but I figured if I kept pretending I didn't know, I'd at least get to help raise her. That was all I wanted."

It was silent for a few moments longer before Castiel said, "Well I guess the secret's out now…"

"I'm not mad," he said, "She told me she had a one-night stand when we were broken up. I should've expected it. I love her too much to let her go over something like this."

"Well I think Maya will be glad at least," he said, "Knowing that she's not hiding anything from you anymore."

After a long silence, the door opened and Maya stepped inside. Her gaze went from Castiel to Nathaniel and back again, looking puzzled.

"Mom," Ciara said, smiling, "I know your secret."

Her face immediately went pale. "Oh," she sighed, "Which one?"

Ciara laughed. "The one you've been lying to me about," she said.

"That doesn't really narrow it down," she said, looking away.

"How much are you keeping from me?" she said, her brow furrowed, "I'm talking about who my dad is."

"Oh," she said, looking flustered, "Oh, oh I'm sorry! I'm sorry."

"I know too," Nathaniel said, "You don't have to apologize. I've known longer than she has."

She put her fingers to her lips. "Maybe I'm not good at keeping secrets," she said sheepishly.

Castiel chuckled beside her, ruffling her hair. "Secrets out now," he said as she used her fingers to put her hair back into place.

"Well I'm glad I've got that off my chest," she said before passing Ciara and approaching Nathaniel, "How are you feeling, honey?"

"A lot better now," he said, smiling.

"I'm glad," she said, relieved, "When do you think you can come home?"

"I don't know," he said, "Definitely today or tomorrow. It didn't go too deep."

"Good," she said, "I love you, and it was so lonely last night without you."

"It was like that on my end too," he said quietly, "Hopefully tonight you won't have to be lonely."

Ciara stepped out of her bedroom back at her mother's house, grinning when she saw Nathaniel and Castiel. They sat at the same couch, although at opposite ends. She knew it was the closest thing to peace that they would achieve.

"Ciara is a miracle," Maya's voice said from the kitchen. She was leaning on the counter, her elbow on it and her face in her palm as she gazed at them.

Castiel shifted uncomfortably. Still grinning, Ciara approached them and sprawled herself out over them.

"Why do I get the legs?" Nathaniel said.

"This makes everything even more uncomfortable," Castiel muttered.

"Shh, you two," Ciara said, "I'm watching something."

She heard her mother chuckle from the kitchen before she approached as well, but sat on the coffee table in front of them instead. "Ah, we're such a happy family," she said, smiling, "What does my happy family want for dinner?"

"Anything," Ciara said, "I'm starved!"

"Okay, so one anything," Maya said, "What do you two want?"

"I don't care," Castiel said, shrugging.

"I'm in the mood for Italian," Nathaniel said.

"You're picky," Ciara said, poking Nathaniel's side with her foot.

"No, he's not," Maya said, "You two are just indecisive." She got to her feet and went into the kitchen.

"It's okay, dad," Ciara said, grinning at Nathaniel, "I know plenty of perfectionists!" At first, she expected him to roll his eyes and reply with a snide remark, but instead he smiled.

"It's not bad to be a perfectionist," he said, "At least I have everything together."

After dinner, they decided to watch some movies. Ciara sat close to Castiel as Maya snuggled with Nathaniel in his lap. Ciara felt annoyed with their sudden graphic closeness. Castiel seemed just as annoyed.

"Mom," Ciara said, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "Where are Lysander and Celeste staying?"

"They're staying in a hotel nearby," she said.

"Oh, I see," she said, unsure of how to continue the conversation.

As Maya and Nathaniel gave each other googley-eyes, Ciara caught her quick glance at Castiel. It was almost like she was trying to make him jealous.

•••

Maya took one last glance at Nathaniel, fast asleep in his bed before stepping out of the room. It seemed Ciara had fallen asleep as well and had to be carried to her room again, leaving Castiel and Maya alone in the living room. He smirked at her.

"Trying to make me jealous?" he said teasingly.

She winked. "Maybe," she said, smiling as she sat beside him on the couch.

He rubbed his hands together. "So," he said slowly, "Now that Nathaniel is asleep…"

She held up her hand. "Look we need to talk," she said quietly, "I think you noticed this but over the course of Ciara's lifetime, I've… developed feelings for you."

"Yeah?" he said quickly, "And?"

"And…" she swallowed, "I don't think I have it in me to leave Nathaniel; I love him too and he's always been there for me."

"So what you're saying is," Castiel said, "you and I should go sleep together again and then pretend like it never happened?"

"That didn't go so well last time," she said, giggling, "What I'm saying is that… I don't want things to change. I just really wanted to get this off of my chest. I love you… but I want to stay friends; just friends."

He smiled, to her surprise. "I don't care," he said, "I just wanted to hear you say that… 'I love you'." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "I got this one nurses phone number at the hospital today anyways," he said, smirking.

She giggled, pushing him playfully before resting her head on his shoulder. "You're my best friend, Castiel," she said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, smiling, "I know."

"Is the slot filled for you?" she asked, "Or can I take it?"

He chuckled. "You already did," he said softly, "A long time ago."


	31. Alternate Ending

_**This is an alternate ending. What happens differently in this chapter is that Maya doesn't go back to Nathaniel after he cheats on her because she doesn't decide to lie to everyone and say that it's Nathaniel's baby. I made this when I saw how many people were Team Cas, and I secretly shipped Maya and Castiel throughout half the story, so here ya go.**_

* * *

Maya checked the time every so often as she sat at the dinner table alone, twirling her fork in her hand. The seat across from her had a plate set but the chair was empty. She sighed, leaning back.

"Castiel," she muttered, "You're late again." The sound of a baby crying in the other room brought Maya to her feet. She fiddled with the ring on her finger as she approached the bedroom, turning a light on. Ciara was kicking in her one-piece pajamas, crying. Maya gathered the child into her arms, rocking her slowly and hushing her. "Shh," she murmured, "Get back to sleep, Cici." Ciara continued crying, but didn't fidget in her mother's arms. "Do you need a new diaper?" she sighed, "Or some milk?" Figuring she needed milk, Maya returned Ciara to her crib, returning to the kitchen. She heated up some formula and tested it on her wrist before approaching Ciara's room again, cradling her with one arm and feeding her with the other. Ciara's crying stopped as she nibbled on the rubber tip of the bottle before drinking from it. Maya sighed with relief as she continued to feed her. This crying every half hour was frustrating, especially at night. The front door opened and she listened to his footsteps approaching before he peered inside.

"Is she sleeping?" Castiel asked.

Maya shook her head. "You're late," she said.

"Sorry," he said quietly, approaching her. He touched her chin with his fingertips and leaned forward, kissing her tenderly.

"What's your excuse this time?" Maya said, sighing.

"This," he said, pulling an envelope out from behind him.

"What is that?" she asked, setting a now sleeping Ciara in her crib. Grinning, he handed her the envelope and she opened it with her fingernail. She reached her hand in to pull out three airplane tickets. "Oh my, gosh," she breathed, "We're going to Tokyo?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling, "I wanted to take you somewhere cool to vacation to for a while. See? I wasn't lying when I said I was working overtime."

Maya bounced on her toes before throwing her arms around Castiel's neck, kissing him passionately. She felt safe with his arms around her waist, especially when they were so firm. The kiss easily turned playful before Maya pulled away, smiling at him contentedly.

"I knew I made the right choice," she said happily. He kissed the tip of her nose.

"I love you more than mister president ever will or ever did," he said proudly, "You're _my_ girl and no one else's."

Grinning, she kissed him once more before taking his hand and leading him to the dining room again. He sat at the table across from her.

"Smells good," he said.

"Thanks, but it's cold," Maya admitted, "I thought you'd be home earlier."

He shrugged as he took a bite. "It's still good," he said.

"How was work?" she asked.

He shrugged again. "Same as usual," he said, "Just a lot of work."

"If you're tired, after you take a shower we could just go to bed," she suggested.

He shook his head. "Hell no, I'm not missing movie night," he said.

She smiled. "What movie are we watching?"

"Anything you want," he said.

"You always say that," she said, "What about you? What do you want to watch?"

"I want to watch what you want to watch," he said smirking.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "No, really, what do you want to watch? At least tell me what genre you want."

"Anything but a chick flick," he said, shrugging, "I usually like the movies you pick anyways."

"Okay, fine," she said, "We can look through the list they have."

The rest of the meal was silent before they put the dishes in the sink. While Castiel bathed, she cleaned and filed away the dishes before plopping down on the couch, flipping through the channels, waiting for Castiel.

Maya's eyes fluttered open as she felt Castiel pulling the blanket up to her shoulders. She gazed at him curiously but he wasn't looking at her; his eyes were on the door.

"Aw, you guys were doing dirty things last night."

Maya held the blanket up to cover her chest as she sat up to see Celeste in the doorway, looking as gorgeous as she always did.

"Celeste!" she said, grinning.

Celeste's smile seemed to light up the whole room. "Next time," she said, "try locking the front door. By the way, Cici was crying when I first came in. I calmed her down though."

"Thank you," Maya said gratefully, "So what are you doing in town? Is Lysander with you?"

She nodded. "He was tired so he stayed back in our hotel," she said, "But we came to visit. Lysander was feeling homesick."

"Oh, I see," Maya said, "I'm glad you're here. The last time I saw you, we were at the wedding."

"Yup," Celeste said, "One of the best days of my life. Want to know why?" Maya nodded. "Of course it's because that's the day you officially weren't going back to Nathaniel."

"Whoa," Castiel said, "We don't say that word in our house; the 'N' word."

Celeste laughed. "Anyways," she said, "You guys made an adorable baby."

"Thank you," Maya said proudly, "I know."

"Hey," Celeste said, "Since you're both naked under that blanket, how about you let me go get my sketch pad?"

Maya laughed. "Oh, gosh," she said, "I missed you. How long are you staying?"

She shrugged. "Not sure," she said, "We'll leave whenever Lysander is willing to let go of his dear brother." She grinned. "It's almost cute," she said.

Maya smiled. "Okay, I want to get dressed," she said, "Wait in the living room." Celeste pouted but closed the door. Maya slipped out from under the covers, approaching the closet.

"Where are you two gonna go?" Castiel asked, still lying in bed.

Shrugging, Maya pulled out a t-shirt and jeans from her closet. "Wherever we go, I need to go grocery shopping first," she said, "We have like nothing to eat right now." She glanced back at him. "Do you want to come?"

He shook his head. "You two have fun," he said. She smiled, robing herself before combing her hair. She climbed on to the bed on top of Castiel, smiling warmly at him before kissing him tenderly.

"I love you," she said softly. He took her face in his hands and kissed her nose.

"I love you too," he said. She smiled again before climbing off of him and getting to her feet. She took her keys from the nightstand and approached the door, waving goodbye to Castiel.

"Take care of Ciara," she said before approaching Celeste, "Alright, let's go grocery shopping."

Celeste smiled. "Not the most exciting thing to do hanging out but okay," she said.

The two girls left the home and went out to Maya's car before driving towards a nearby grocery store. She filled her cart with things that she deemed necessary, browsing while Celeste admired the generic art supplies. She pulled back her cart to move it when she ran into someone.

"I'm sorry," she said, turning. When she found herself gazing at Nathaniel, she fought the urge to take back her apology; she was an adult now and being mature was important.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, "Gosh you've gotten pretty." Narrowing her eyes, Maya turned.

"Really?" she said, "My husband always thought I was pretty."

"Husband?" he questioned just as she began pushing the cart, "You're married?"

"Of course," she said, "You didn't think Castiel and I could stay friends forever while living under the same roof with our child, did you?"

"Castiel?" he said, a look of pure disgust on his face, "Out of all the people you could marry, you chose him?"

"Yeah," she said sharply as she turned to face him, her hands on her hips, "He never cheated on me, he's an amazing provider, he comes home every night and he keeps his promises. He's every girl's dream guy and he's all mine. You, on the other hand…" She only rolled her eyes before turning back to her cart and pushing it, leaving him dumbfounded. She found Celeste and bought everything before returning to the car. "Guess who I ran into while we were in there," she said.

"Nathaniel?" Celeste said, "I saw him and I waved but he just pretended he didn't know me."

"He was hitting on me," Maya chuckled, "I totally turned him down. He was trying to say that Castiel isn't a good husband." Starting the car, she grimaced. "I'm already a spoiled wife," she said, "I mean you can even see it by looking at the ring; one-hundred percent pure silver and it's a huge diamond. He treats me well too, plus he looks good and he's amazing in bed. He's the whole package."

"Nathaniel is just jealous," Celeste said, "He's cute and all but he doesn't know how to keep a girlfriend."

"I know," Maya said, rolling her eyes, "Anyways, let's get these groceries home and then we can take Cici and go out somewhere. Castiel has to leave for work soon."

"Alright," she said. They drove back to Maya's home and put the groceries away.

"Man, I'm hungry," Maya said, "Did you eat yet?"

"Of course," Celeste said, "I'm a morning person so I was up for hours before I came here."

"Wow," Maya chuckled, "How does Lysander deal with that?"

She shrugged. "He doesn't complain," she said, "I don't bother him and he knows I just like to watch the sunrise. Plus I'm with him all the time, so it's good to have some alone time for myself. Lysander does it too, except at night."

"Wow, you two like the opposite time of day," Maya said.

"I know," Celeste said, "It's a little weird, but it works in our favor. I don't want him to feel suffocated by me and I don't want to feel suffocated either, so it works."

"I'm glad then," Maya said, "I need to put together a breakfast, though, for me and Castiel."

"Okay," she said, "Then that leaves me some alone time with Cici."

As Celeste disappeared into Ciara's room, Maya quickly threw together a breakfast and set the table for two again. She approached her bedroom to find that Castiel was fast asleep again. Giggling, she shook him awake and led him to the breakfast table.

"How was grocery shopping?" Castiel asked although he seemed a bit bored with the topic as he gingerly spooned some food into his mouth.

"I saw Nathaniel," she said. His sudden change in expression brought a smile to her face.

"Did you talk to him?" he asked protectively.

"We ran into each other, so he started talking to me," she said, the smile still visible on her face, "He started hitting on me so I told him we were married."

"Did you hit him?" he said, "If not, then I'll find him and I will."

"No," she said, laughing, "He flipped out about it though so I went off on him and left."

"You should've hit him," he said, "As far as I know, girls don't really like when you cheat on them so he's in no place to be flipping out. What was he saying?"

"He made you out as a bad husband, even though he has no idea," she said, shrugging, "It doesn't matter though; I know that you're an amazing husband."

He smiled, but said no more. After breakfast, Castiel left for work, leaving Maya and Celeste with Ciara. Celeste cradled Ciara in her arms adoringly as she sat on the couch in the living room.

"She's just too cute," Celeste gushed, "I can't wait until Lysander and I have babies! I'm nowhere near ready yet, but I definitely want one or two in the future."

Maya chuckled, plopping down on the couch beside her. "I bet you guys would have a cute baby," she said, "I just can't imagine you two settling down though; you're always traveling."

"I know," she said, "But I want to find a place near here when I settle down. I want to be near you and Ciara and of course Lysander will want to be near his brother."

"That's true," Maya said, "We could give each other parenting advice."

Celeste grinned, gazing down at Ciara. "She's going to grow up to be hot, you can just tell by looking at her," she said, giggling.

Maya smiled. "Yeah," she said, "I'm kind of scared for her to grow up. I mean I love her, so I kind of just want her to be my baby girl forever."

"Aw, Maya," Celeste said, "That's cute. But you gotta let them go eventually. Every bird has it's wings; what use are they if they never get to use them?"

Maya shrugged. "I don't know," she sighed, "I just know that when she's going off to college eighteen years from now, I'll be crying pretty hard."

"Just make sure you raise her right," Celeste said, "Otherwise she won't want to come see you when she moves out. Take you and your parents for an example."

Maya grimaced. "I would never on my life treat my child the way my parents treated me," she said.

"Good," Celeste said, "Or else I'd have to kidnap her."

Maya chuckled. "If one day Castiel and I go insane and decide to treat her like that, please do kidnap her," she said.

•••

Castiel wiped the oil off of his hands, sighing as he stuffed the rag in his pocket. He wasn't dressed like the other guys because as the owner, he didn't exactly have to work. He chose to, however, but only under-the-hood work. He owned a mechanics shop. The previous owner trusted him and gave the shop to him when he passed. It was a lucky score, considering he was still in his early twenties. The guys respected him too, although most of them were older than him. The shop made a lot of money, so he was able to provide a good amount of money for his family. He ran his fingers through his black hair so that it didn't hang over his eyes as he approached an oncoming car. He gave the driver a smile which quickly fell into a scowl upon realizing who it was. Nathaniel stepped out of his car, sighing.

"Just my luck," he muttered.

"Hey," Castiel said, putting his hands up, "a guy's gotta make some money somehow, right? At least I'm not hitting on your wife."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, "I need an oil change and a tune-up. Could you check my tires, too?"

"Alright," Castiel said, popping open the hood of the car.

"Are you and Maya really married?" Nathaniel asked slowly.

"No, we're pretending," Castiel said sarcastically, "I gave her a pretend ring and our wedding was pretend too. Our baby isn't real either, I got her at a toy store."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "I don't see how she puts up with you," he sighed.

"I don't see how not," Castiel said, "I make good money, she has everything she could want, I come home on time…" he turned his head a bit to eye Nathaniel as he said, "and I don't cheat."

"So I messed up once," Nathaniel muttered, "I don't see how that's a big deal."

"Sleeping with another girl for four months isn't just 'messing up'," Castiel said, "It's ruining the whole relationship." He turned, snatching the keys from Nathaniel and climbing into the driver's seat. "If there's no trust in a relationship, it's not stable," he said as he started the engine and drove the car to a work space. Nathaniel followed him along as Castiel climbed out and raised the car. "Another thing," Castiel said turning towards Nathaniel and crossing his arms, "Next time you get a girlfriend, make sure you don't let her fall for another guy."


End file.
